I Have a Bad Case of Loving You
by LitLover 101
Summary: These would be the greatest years of her life. After seven years Hayley Marshall would officially be a doctor. Unfortunately, until then she had to deal with the rigors of her internship and residency with a colorful group of fellow interns and a one night stand who turns out to be her boss. What could wrong?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**The**__**Originals**_**. That honor goes to Julie Plec, Michael Narducci and the CW. **

**Hello, my lovely readers. This is a story that is very loosely based on **_**Grey's**__**Anatomy**_** but will diverge quickly as you will see in this first chapter. On with the show…**

Chapter 1: Welcome to New Orleans Grace Hospital

The sun was glaring in through the curtains that for some reason were wide open. Yawning widely, Hayley's eyelids flickered open and she looked around. Realizing that she was lying on the floor and that her head was pounding, she sat up. Then it hit her. "Shit,. I'm going to be late for work," starting to get up, she nearly tripped over the sleeping man beside her. "Oh, my God," she muttered. 'Where did he come from?' Hayley didn't have time to figure out that mystery.

"Good morning," the handsome stranger greeted Hayley with an amused grin as he ran his hand through his dark brown locks and she felt her heart begin to pound heavily in her chest. How could a man look that good? This was just so wrong and she wished that she remembered meeting him last night.

Smiling, Hayley lowered her eyes before peeking up at him through her eyelashes. "Hi, I have to go. Sorry, if you want a cup of coffee or something… Well, I'd like to say that I can be more accommodating but I just moved in and I haven't unpacked yet…and… and I have to go. I'm sorry. Have a nice day."

Running up the stairs, Hayley jumped in the shower. Climbing back out in less than fifteen minutes, Hayley grabbed a towel. Entering her bedroom, she yanked out a sweater, jeans and underwear. Dressing quickly, she ran back down the stairs while yanking a brush through her hair. Thankfully, the very hot man who had recently been occupying her floor in only a blanket, was gone.

Racing out to her car, Hayley pulled her makeup case out of her purse and tried to make herself look just a little less sleep deprived. Shaking her head at the futility of her efforts, Hayley pushed the pedal down to the floor and then changed her mind. If she killed someone on the way to the hospital it would kind of defeat the purpose of trying to become a doctor.

Parking in the lot, Hayley got out of her car to see a young woman getting off the back of a motorcycle. The woman pulled off her helmet and her long blonde hair came swinging out in curls down her back. "What you staring at, yeah?" The woman snapped at Hayley who rolled her eyes and then yanked the door to the back of her car open. Pulling out a bag, she slid it over her shoulder. She left plenty of space between herself and the young woman with the motorcycle.

Stepping into the hospital, Hayley grinned; this was just so cool. Walking toward the front desk, she spoke to a nurse who told her that she should go wait with the other interns. Nodding and looking at the others, Hayley sighed heavily. "Do you know where there's a coffee machine around here?" She inquired with a wide smile. The nurse narrowed her eyes and pointed down the hall. "Thanks," Hayley replied before she headed down the hallway.

As she stepped up to the coffee machine, she saw a young woman with blonde hair in a bun coming to stand right in front of the machine. The girl was taking far too long figuring out what she wanted for Hayley. "Excuse me," Hayley called, causing the girl to turn around and smile cheerfully.

"Hi," the girl said. "It's so nice to see you again. Are you ready for our first day?" The girl inquired.

Hayley could only blink back at the girl, "Out first day?" she asked. Why should she have known that she got stuck with a freaking Barbie doll to work with?

"Ahem, ladies, I can see that you are both new here but I would love it if you would step aside so that I can get a bloody cup of coffee. It's been long day," a young man in a white lab called and Hayley took in the name tag, Dr. Klaus Mikaelson, it read.

'Shit,' Hayley thought. What she really needed was to be in trouble with one of the real doctors around here because of the freaking cheerleader in her midst. "I'm sorry," she muttered, stepping aside.

Klaus smirked as the cheerleader chose to just stand there. "I'm sorry. I know that this must be shocking to you but I'm sure that there are like a thousand coffee machines around here. And you could have asked in a more polite manner. But by all means, the machine's all yours, Doctor," the blonde snapped at Dr. Mikaelson whose eyebrows shot upward as the blonde walked away haughtily.

"Are you coming, Hayley?" The blonde called, craning her head to look at Hayley and completely ignoring Dr. Mikaelson. Seeing Dr. Mikaelson's eyes narrowing at the affront, Hayley felt her lips turning upward. Maybe the girl wasn't so bad after all. Forcing the smile off of her face, Hayley walked toward the blonde and they walked toward the group of interns.

Sucking in a deep breathe, Hayley's eyebrows rose as a young woman came toward them. "Good morning, everyone," the woman called out drily, glaring at them. "This is your first day, so come with me." She began to walk down the hall and Hayley found herself walking beside the cheerleader with the motorcycle chick behind them.

"What's your number, babe?" a voice called from behind Hayley and she noticed a young man with spiky brown hair and a wide grin.

"Bugger off," the blonde snapped before stepping forward and falling into step beside Hayley and the bubbly blonde. Dr. Jekele and Dr. Hyde were now on either side of her, Hayley was thinking with a chuckle.

"Something funny?" the resident snapped at Hayley, causing her to choke. Ignoring Hayley's lack of a reply the resident stopped and folded her arms over her chest. "I'm Bonnie Bennett and I will be your resident for your first three years. My job is to make sure that you don't kill anyone around here. Unfortunately, this is a hospital and you will kill people. The minute that some fool around here places a scalpel in your inexperienced hand,, you will no doubt slice someone to pieces. But my job is make sure that as few die on my watch as possible. Furthermore, I am not your mother. If I am on a break, do not bug me. If there is an emergency then you may page me. If you do not understand what an actual emergency is, I have no idea why the hell you are here. Any questions?"

The perky blonde raised her hand. "Yes," Dr. Bennett, asked, rolling her eyes.

"I really need to pee," the blonde said. "Do you know where the bathroom is?"

Dr. Bennett's eye flashed and she glared at the intern. "What is your name?"

"Caroline Forbes," the perky girl announced.

"Well, congratulations, Caroline. You're will be on scut sometime this week, don't worry, I always remember things so you won't get out of it. You can go to the bathroom after we get done with the tour," Dr. Bennett called out. "Are there any more questions?"

"Yeah, do we get a break soon because I forgot to eat this morning," the young man who had been harassing the motorcycle chick inquired.

"No, you're interns. You're first shift will be forty-eight hours straight. If you can't handle not getting up early enough to eat or using the restroom for a five hour tour, then I suggest that you go home to your mother," Bonnie snapped, her eyes glowing with malice. "What is your name so that I may know what to call you when I tell you that you will be on unpleasant duty tomorrow morning?"

"Tyler Lockwood," Tyler announced, folding his arms over his chest.

Bonnie simply stared back at him. "I think your new name is evil spawn." With that said, she whirled around and began to walk ahead of them. "As I was saying this is your first day. Medical school is tough. But that was just your training. The real work begins now."

"Whoa, she is intense," a voice called from right behind Hayley and she turned her head to find another young man, smiling cheerfully at her. "Hi, I'm Josh." He offered his hand and Hayley smiled at him, taking his hand as the motorcycle chick rolled her eyes.

"I'm Hayley," she replied with and then nodded at Caroline. "This is Caroline."

Perking up at the sound of her name, Caroline turned to Josh. "Hi, I'm Caroline. But you can call me Care."

"Josh, and you can call me Josh," Josh replied and Caroline laughed as the angry blonde rolled her eyes and mumbled something.

"Excuse me?" Caroline called to the other blonde. "Did you have something you wanted to say to me?"

"Not really," the other blonde snapped.

"What is her problem?" Caroline asked, staring after 'Miss Chip of Her Shoulder".

"I don't have a problem," the other blonde shot back.

"Name," Bonnie snapped.

"Bekah Mikaelson," the blonde said with a roll of her eyes and Bonnie sighed.

"Another one of you. Well, welcome to the team, B. Mikaelson. Don't expect special treatment just because your father owns the place," Bonnie instructed, glowering at Bekah.

"Never have I ever received special treatment due to who my family is. I certainly did not expect for this experience to be any different," Bekah snarled as her back stiffened.

Bonnie's eyebrows rose. "As long as we are clear on that…"

"Crystal," Bekah replied as they continued to walk.

"We will be meeting up with Dr. Finn Mikaelson shortly," the little, angry resident announced with the even angrier intern/daughter of the owner of the hospital following right behind her.

"I think I shall skip the lecture. Finn will be happy to repeat it another thousand times to me later," Bekah muttered as she started to walk past Bonnie who grabbed her by the arm.

"I think not. Like I said, Mikaelson. You are an intern. You are on the bottom of this food chain. Now, get behind me and wait for your brother. Or so help me God you will not see the inside of an OR for your entire first year." You could almost see steam pouring out of Dr. Bennett's ears and Hayley made a mental note to not piss her off.

Bekah did not say a word as she stepped back and waited as Bonnie pushed open a pair of double doors. Inside, they found a gurney and Hayley stared up into the gallery with a huge smile. This was about the coolest experience of her entire life, except for getting the letter admitting her into the program. "Hello, everyone," a man with dark hair, broad shoulders and a brooding look called to them before breaking into a wide smile. "I am Dr. Finn Mikaelson. I would like to welcome you to New Orleans Grace Hospital. The next seven years of your life will be spent in rooms just like the one that we stand in right now. There are twenty of you as of now. Five of you will leave for another program. Seven will drop out in search of a new career. As for the rest of you I hope to see you next year. Good luck."

"I feel so inspired," Tyler muttered and Josh chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Tyler snapped.

"Don't talk to him like that," Caroline shot at Tyler with a nasty look.

"Alright," Bonnie yelled at them. "Now, would you like to know where the cafeteria is located?"

"There is a God," Tyler replied which caused Bonnie to roll her eyes upward.

"Idiots," Hayley heard their resident say under her breath. "This year, they're all idiots."

"So, what do you plan on specializing in?" Caroline asked conversationally and even Bekah seemed to want to know Hayley's answer.

"I don't know yet," Hayley replied even though she knew with all her heart that she wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a brain surgeon.

Rebekah snorted with a smirk on her face. "I take it you know what you want?" Caroline called to Bekah who smiled widely.

"Of course, I am going to be a heart goddess," Bekah told her fellow interns with a wide grin.

"Who doesn't want to be a heart surgeon?" Caroline replied with a frown.

"Me. I want to a PEDs doc," Josh announced. "I like kids and the idea of being able to heal them would be awesome."

"I thought you would want to a Gyno doc," Tyler shot at him with a laugh which Josh simply ignored.

"And what do you want, Tyler?" Hayley asked him through narrowed eyes.

"You mean other than you in my bed," Tyler quipped with a chuckle.

"Ew," Hayley wrinkled her nose before walking away from him.

"He's a real jackass," Bekah told me with a smirk.

"Yeah, he really is," Hayley replied with a laugh. "So, you're a Mikaelson."

"Unfortunately," Bekah responded with a shrug. "It's not that wonderful when your father owns the hospital that you're going to work at. Then there's the bit where all three of your brothers work there, too."

Hayley's eyebrows rose, "Three? I've only met two of them."

"Oh, which was the second, pray tell?" Bekah inquired with a genuine smile.

"Niklaus," Hayley supplied. "He's a bit of a Tyler."

Bekah threw back her head and laughed as they walked into the cafeteria. "You have no idea. And, please, call him, Dr. Mikaelson during working hours. He eats interns for breakfast. Other than that he's Klaus."

"Oh," Hayley nodded and then looked at Caroline who was attempting to ignore Tyler who would not leave her alone. Picking up a yogurt cup, Hayley wondered what Klaus would do to punish Caroline for her earlier insult. Just as she had that thought Klaus appeared at the entrance of the cafeteria with three other men.

"Oh, look, there are my brothers and Nik's best friend, Marcel. Bloody idiot," Bekah muttered.

"Oh. Nik or the friend?" Hayley joked.

"Let's get the being pleasant because we're interns portion of this day over, shall we?" Bekah asked, taking Hayley by the elbow who had yet to pay for the yogurt.

"Hello, Nik," Bekah called to her brother who had his back turned.

"Hello, baby sister," Klaus replied with a smirk of his own. His gaze moved to Hayley. "Ah, and if it isn't the young intern who did not get her cup of coffee. Would you like me to make up for that, sweetheart? And where is that delightful friend of yours, anyway. I owe her a cup as well."

"She's not my friend," Hayley told him with a roll of her eyes.

"And still when she called, you answered. Doesn't sound like you have much in the way of leadership capacity? Not a good sign in a new doctor," Klaus murmured, lacing his fingers behind his back.

"Don't mind him, he's an ass," one of the other men told Hayley as he held out his hand to her. "Dr. Marcel Gerard. Nice to meet you."

"Hayley. Hayley Marshall," Hayley replied and five set of eyes became quite interested in her suddenly. She kicked herself for telling them her full name.

"Marshall? As in the brain surgeon extraordinaire, Marshall? You mother is a legend. A God. A Queen of surgical skills," one of the other men said.

"Enough, Kol. Just because you do not do real surgery does not mean you need to prattle such," Klaus muttered. "Elijah, I think you will be interested in this one."

"Yes, I think I will be," the last man who had had his back turned while they talked turned around and Hayley's jaw dropped as she took in the face of the man she had woken up next to. "Hello, Hayley. I am Elijah Mikaelson. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he murmured and Hayley could only gulp. These were going to be some of the longest years of her life. That was for sure.

**I hope you enjoyed that first chapter because there is plenty more to come. **

**Thank for for faving, following, reviewing and for reading!**

**Peace,**

**LL**


	2. Chapter 2

Hello My Lovely Readers,

My doctor advised me to write only once a week due to severe headaches. Therefore, I will be posting less frequently for awhile.

Please write a mini review or PM to let me know which story you prefer to have posted next week.

You can choose among all the fics I have yet to finish.

I will try to decide which fic has not been updated recently as opposed to those that have been updated lately.

Birds of a Feather

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

The Season of the Witch

Terrible Love

Welcome to Big Brother TVD Edition

Hummingbird Heartbeats

His Biological Son

I Have a Bad Case of Loving You

Home Is Where My Family Is

Her Greatest Desire

The Cost of Little Vials of Blood

The Klairoline Shipper Games

The "What the Hell" Diaries

The Mystic Falls Dare Club

Whichever fic gets the most reviews will be the one I post next. The rest will fall in line according to the number of reviews.

Peace,

Girl with Severe Pain


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my lovely readers. Thank you for the reviews and as I promised that I would update the stories in order of how many readers asked for an update. So, this is number two. I hope that you like the new chapter and the beginning of Haylijah's budding romance. I will try to update sometime next month. On with the show…**

Chapter 2: Being an Intern 101

Yawning because it was like five in the morning, Hayley trudged through the hospital's front doors. She was greeted by an unsmiling Dr. Bonnie Bennett. "Hello, Dr. Marshall," Dr. Bennett greeted her roughly, picking a chart. "Come with me," Hayley followed the surprisingly quick little woman as she pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Today, you will be observing. You will not touch the patient. You will not talk to the patient. Understood?" Staring at Hayley, Bonnie waited for her response.

"Yes, of course," Hayley replied. Following behind Bonnie into an examining room, Hayley found that Rebekah, Caroline, Tyler and Josh were already there. Dr. Klaus Mikaelson was standing with a chart in his hands and he smiled at the patient before frowning at the interns.

"Dr. Bennett, would you like to present?" Klaus inquired but it was obvious it was not a question and the resident looked happy as she took center stage. "This is Jenny Nicoles. She came in with a complaint that she had been experiencing headaches and that she had light headedness in the past six months."

"What would you suggest to do next?" Klaus asked the group, cutting Bonnie off in mid-speech.

Caroline held her hand up but Klaus ignored her. Looking around at the others, he smirked, "Bekah," he called and Bekah rolled her eyes.

"I would suggest that she be given an MRI. It could be that she was under stress but it could also be a tumor," Bekah stated calmly.

"And if the MRI comes back positive, then what do you do?" Klaus inquired.

"You would call for a Neuro consult," Bekah replied drily, her eyes glazing over with boredom.

"Wrong," Klaus told her with a wide smile as if he was enjoying telling her that she had made a mistake.

"Bullshit, Nik," Bekah replied and then she flushed with embarrassment at her outburst.

"That would be Dr. Mikaelson to you, little sister," Klaus snapped with a chuckle. "Now, would anyone like to point out the mistake in protocol that my baby sister just jumped in her desire to get through the program?"

Everyone but Bekah and Hayley raised their hands. Again, Klaus acted as if he had a blind spot where Caroline stood, waving her hand frantically. "Yes," he called to Tyler, who grinned widely. "She forgot to call Dr. Bennett to make sure that she was correct in her diagnoses of what she was looking at and Dr. Bennett is her resident. So, you don't just call Neuro before you call your res."

"Thank you, Dr…" Klaus raised his eyebrows waiting for Tyler to supply his name.

"Tyler Lockwood," Tyler said smoothly with another grin directed at Bekah who glared at him in rage.

"Ass," Bekah muttered.

"Congratulations, Dr. Lockwood, you will be assisting me in the OR today," Klaus announced.

"Ass," Bekah snarled before she walked out of the room.

"You're all dismissed. Shoo," Klaus called to them, waving both his hands.

Walking out into the hallway, Hayley found Bekah glaring at the opposite wall. "That was completely out of line," Bekah whispered hoarsely. "He did that on purpose."

"Is your brother the Neuro guy here?" I asked because I did not want to piss off the man who would be my mentor.

"Nik? No. he's the PEDs guy," Bekah told me with a roll of her eyes.

"Really?" Hayley felt shocked. She somehow did not see him as the man who wanted to deal with sick kids all day or kids at all.

"Yeah, it wasn't his first pick when he started. But he changed his mind during his residency," Bekah whispered.

"So, who's the Neuro guy?" Hayley pressed because she was beginning to feel dread in the bottom of her stomach. Say it's Kol or Marcel. Anyone by Elijah. After their awkward encounter in the cafeteria, Hayley had bolted out of there as soon as possible. It was just too weird realizing that you slept with one of your bosses. But it was okay because it was not going to happen again. Like ever. Or at least not as long as she could help it. It was just way too complicated.

"Marshall. Mikaelson. What do you think that you're doing?" Bonnie snapped at the two interns who looked at each other as Bonnie placed her hands on her hips with an exasperated look on her face.

"Bonnie," a male voice called and then Kol came striding toward them. "I have been looking all over for you. Tell me, which of your lovely new faces would like to join me in a surgery today?"

Hayley and Bekah were now very alert as they stood eagerly before Kol. Tyler, Caroline and Josh appeared as well, looking hopeful. "You can count me out," Tyler announced. "I already have a hot surgery with the other Dr. Mikaelson."

"Which one?" Kol inquired with a grin. "I have several siblings mucking about this place that poses as an establishment for the health of humans."

"Kol," Bonnie growled, making Kol smile down at her. Bonnie shook her head before turning her attention to Tyler. "Sorry, Lockwood, did you already forget that you're going to be punished today?"

"Umm… no," Tyler looked worried as Bonnie smiled at him.

"You're on scut today," Bonnie announced as Tyler's jaw dropped. "Mikaelson, you're going to be taking Lockwood's place. And, Marshall, the other Dr. Mikaelson requested that you shadow him today."

"Which one?" Hayley inquired quietly.

"Speak up, darling," Kol instructed her with a mischievous grin.

Sucking in a deep breath, Hayley responded with more reassurance. "I would like to know which Mikaelson brother requested my services, Klaus or Elijah?"

"Elijah," Kol replied. "Is that a problem? I could have another intern sent to him if you don't want to work with Lijah. You can work with me today."

Bonnie glared at the clipboard she was holding as Kol spoke. "Doesn't Marcel have something?" she asked without looking at Kol.

"When does he not?" Kol quipped. "He's looking forward to Bekah coming to shadow hin today."

Bekah looked surprised and she began to smile widely. "Yes," she cried before hurrying off.

Hayley couldn't help but smile. At least someone was getting what they wanted today. Kol began to speak again. "Okay, which one can I have? The Barbie doll or the Ken?"

"That is so rude," Caroline whispered to Hayley and Josh.

"But he's so hot," Josh replied as Kol watched them carefully.

"Which one of you is interested in plastics?" Kol inquired. Caroline, Josh and Tyler lifted their hands. Tyler put his hand down when he saw the look on Bonnie's face.

"Alright," Kol looked from Caroline to Josh. "Why don't I take both of you? I'm feeling generous today." Caroline and Josh looked at each other, the happiness palatable.

"Off we go then," Kol cried out, leading Caroline and Josh off.

That left Hayley, Tyler and Bonnie. "Do you need me to take you to Dr. Mikaelson?" Bonnie inquired.

"No. No of course not," Hayley replied too quickly. Before she thought too much about what she was doing she hurried off toward the staircase. There had to be a nurse who could show her to the right floor. If not, then she would figure it out on her own. Not a problem. She certainly did not want Dr. Bennett to put her on scut the next day.

Taking a deep breath as she hit the fourth floor, Hayley rolled her eyes. Man, she was kind of out of shape. Running up four floors should not being taking it out of her like this. "Lost already?" A voice called from behind her and Hayley spun around to find Dr. Marcel Gerard walking up the stairs below her.

Hayley smiled at the attendee. "Yeah. I feel like the worst intern in this hospital right now."

Marcel chuckled while rubbing his chin. "You're not the only one who gets lost at times. Sometimes I can't remember where the cafeteria is. But that's more from standing on my feet for fifteen hours or more in the OR."

"Fifteen hours?" Hayley repeated, her eyes going wide. It's not like she hadn't heard that as a surgeon that she would be putting in really long hours. Plus she watched all of the seasons of ER and had them on DVD on her shelf at home.

"And more," Marcel said nodding slowly as he began to move toward the stairs going up to the fifth floor.

"Which floor would I need to find Elijah on?" Hayley asked.

"It depends on what the good doctor is up to right now," Marcel told her as he pulled out his phone. "Let's page him and see if he responds. He usually does in mere minutes unless he's in surgery. Unlike his brothers. Klaus is the worst. Real pain in the neck if you ask me."

"Good thing that no one does ask you, friend," Klaus called from behind Marcel with his sister by his side. Rebekah rolled her eyes and began to mime his words silently. "Shut your mouth, sister, before I am tempted to go down to the morgue and deposit you in one of the drawers."

"Bugger off, Nik," Rebekah snarled.

"Hey there, Bekah," Marcel called with a wide smile.

Rebekah smiled back and came to stand before him. "Hello there yourself, Dr. Gerard. I look forward to being on your service sometime soon. Alas, my brother caught me in the hallway and has twisted my arm into working with him."

"That would be because the young Dr. Forbes has escaped with Kol. I will have to have a talk with him. Who are you with, Hayley?" Klaus inquired with uplifted eyebrows with his fingers laced behind his back.

"I'm with Elijah," Hayley informed Klaus and then she blushed as Klaus smirked. "I mean that I'm on his shift. I'm with him for today. Not that I will be with him tomorrow. Or that I'm with him in other contexts. It's all about the work. God, I sound like Caroline," Hayley muttered. 'Note to self. Do not hang out with the cheerleader or will turn into said cheerleader,' Hayley told herself as Marcel's phone beeped.

"And that would be the guy that you're not with on a non-professional basis, of course," Klaus announced as he peered at the screen on Marcel's phone as Marcel sent a text to Elijah.

"He says he'll come find us. I was on my way to the seventh floor," Marcel told them as he began to walk up the stairs.

"Seventh?" Hayley mouthed to Rebekah who shrugged wordlessly as she followed her brother and Marcel up the stairs.

Marcel and Klaus began to discuss a procedure that they were going to team up on and Hayley felt her heart beat pick up. As much as she loved Neurology she was looking forward to the rotation partition of her internship and she wanted to get in on the surgery that the male attendees were discussing. Even if they would never allow her to hold a scalpel during the procedure but being in the room would be enough to make her day a little bit brighter.

"Kol," Klaus suddenly shouted as they made it to the seventh floor to find Kol typing away on his phone. His interns were nowhere in sight and he looked bored.

"Nik," Kol replied dully. "Who got your panties in a knot?"

"You took the bloody intern that I wanted on my shift today," Klaus hissed as Marcel grinned and looked back at Rebekah and Hayley.

"I think that we should give them some privacy," Marcel whispered. "This could get nasty."

"What else is new?" Rebekah said drily giving her brother's a wary look before she pulled the door open and held it for Hayley who winced as Klaus began to yell that he did not bloody well care what Kol wanted and no it was not bloody Josh that he was referring to.

"Did you want to get a cup of coffee while Klaus rips Kol a new one?" Marcel asked and Hayley looked up to find that he was staring down at Rebekah with a smirk.

"I don't know. That might seem like harassment. And I'm not sure that taking favors from my superior," Rebekah said slowly with a wide grin. Hayley thought that Rebekah's smile was more than friendly. Feeling her own lips turn upward she jumped when someone spoke into her ear.

"Good morning, Hayley. It's lovely to see you again," Elijah murmured and Hayley had a flashback of his rumpled hair as he laid on her floor covered in a blanket.

Licking her lips, Hayley turned around and stared up at Elijah. "Hello, Dr. Mikaelson. I was told that you requested that I follow you on your rotation today." Yes, that sounds super professional. Given the surprised look on his face Elijah had not been expecting that reaction but he recovered quickly.

Sliding his left hand into his pants pocket of the expensive looking suit, Elijah smiled at Hayley. "Yes, I did. Didn't I? I suppose that means that you would like to join me as I break the news to one of my favorite patients that they have a tumor on the cerebral cortex," he said with a nod of his head.

"Oh," Hayley could not think of what to say in return. By the light tone of Elijah's voice you would think that he was telling her that it was going to rain later in the day and she should grab an umbrella. Somehow that was not the way that she had expected him to act. Then again she barely knew the man so how was she to know how he would act or think.

Shaking her head, Hayley walked beside Elijah in uncomfortable silence with her arms folded. Realizing what she was doing she dropped her arms. However, she kept her eyes on the floor as Elijah swung the door to one of the rooms open and stood aside so that she could walk in before him.

Taking a step inside the room she saw an older woman sitting on the bed. Her hair hung down her back in a long braid and she was reading a magazine. When Hayley walked toward the bed she smiled, noticing that it was a copy of Vanity Fair. At home she had copy lyying on the coffee table. Unfortunately, she had not been able to read it due to the whole just having moved in and trying to prepare for work.

"Good morning, Eve. How are you on this sunny Tuesday?" Elijah inquired as he came to stand beside the woman who took off a pair of spectacles.

"I'm enjoying a bit of light reading. And how are you, Elijah and who is this young lady with you?" Eve replied with an upward twist of her lips that was not quite a smile but her eyes shined with warmth.

Elijah looked at Hayley. "I am well. Thank you. And this is Hayley Marshall. She is one of our new interns. She will be observing our conversation today to learn what the proper manner of communicating with a patient is all about." His voice was light and he was smiling as he spoke. Folding her arms again, Hayley waited to see what Elijah would do next. He strode over to the window. Craning his neck, he looked back at Eve. "Do you mind if I pull these open? It seems a bit dark in here and I would like to shine some light on things."

"Whatever makes you happy, Doc," Eve replied with a smile that showed her teeth this time.

Pulling the curtains back, Elijah took a step back and stared out the window for a moment.

After a pause that made Hayley shift on her feet, Elijah turned back with a gentle smile. Sitting down on the bed beside his patient, Elijah rested his hands in his lap. "Eve, your test results came back and there is a mass on your cerebral cortex."

Eve sucked in a breath as Elijah sat silently taking the time to allow her to process the information before continuing. "You need to understand that this is not a death sentence. There are options. You could undergo surgery and I can cut out as much of the tumor as possible. We would then use chemotherapy to rid you of the rest of the mass. This is one of the most aggressive treatments but it is also the one that would stop the possibility of the tumor from spreading further. There are further less aggressive options that we could explore-"

Holding up her hand, Eve watched Elijah stop mid-sentence. "How much time would I have without the surgery?"

"Six weeks," Elijah stated without a pause to think about it. His grave expression gave Hayley the impression that he was sure of his answer.

"Six weeks?" Eve repeated and Elijah nodded. "And with this surgery I would have longer?"

"There is always the possibility with any surgery that you would not make it through. And there is the possibility of complications post-op," Elijah told her slowly.

"What would you do if you were me, Elijah?" Eve asked and Elijah smiled.

"I would have the surgery," he replied.

Taking a breath, Eve placed her hand over Elijah's. "I trust your opinion. So, surgery it is."

"All right. Then I will go ahead and set up the operation for tomorrow. Is there anyone that you would like for me to call?" Elijah inquired.

"No. It's just me. Thank you," Eve said.

"I will come by and check on you this evening," Elijah promised as he came to collect Hayley.

Hayley smiled at Eve and nodded at her before she followed Elijah out the door. "Does it ever get easier?" she asked as soon as the door closed.

"I'm sorry. What?" Elijah said raising an eyebrow.

"Does it ever get easier giving patients the news that they might die?" Hayley asked. This was so not like a medical drama. Seeing Eve in that bed the reality of her new job had hit her like a tons of bricks.

Elijah rubbed the bridge of his nose. "In a word. No. It never gets easier. But after the first hundred times you begin to place distance between yourself and the patient. There is nothing wrong with caring but there is danger is allowing yourself to become too attached to the patient. Our job is to heal them; therefore we must maintain distance."

"Is that what you were doing with Eve?" Hayley inquired and Elijah's lips tipped upward. "Shall we go downstairs and get a coffee before I grab a couple of charts and introduce you to more of my patients?"

"Shouldn't you be maintaining distance between yourself and your intern?" Halley teased him, peering beneath her eyelashes.

"It's just a cup of coffee, Hayley. Trust me, you will thank me after the first twelve hours and you will be begging for another after the following twenty-four," Elijah called over his shoulder as he began to walk ahead of her.

"Thanks for reminding me that this is a forty-eight hour shift," Hayley shouted after him.

Whirling on his heel, Elijah stopped and waited for her with a grin. "I did not add that I will be getting off at ten o'clock tonight," he added.

"You suck," Hayley told him.

"Perhaps," Elijah said with a wink that made her cheeks flush. Oh, this man was going to make this being professional very, very difficult. However, Hayley was sure she was up for the challenge. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, Hayley drew in a deep breath. He was staring. Oh, yes, he was going to make this really difficult.

**Thank you for faving, following, reading and all of the really great support. I hope that you're still enjoying the story. As I said above I will try really hard to send out a new update sometime next month. **

**Lauren: Thank you. I'm on the mend and hopefully I will be fully recovered soon. **

**Yeahuhhuh: Thank you. **

**Sarah-Sage: Thank you and your wish is my command. **

**Guest: Thank you for thinking so because I was a little afraid that no one would like it. **

**Orginals6geek: Thank you. I'm getting there. **

**Guest: Thank you for the concern. **

**Guest: Thank you for the support. **

**Lacjusttheretoread: And here it is finnaaaallllyyyy. ;)**

**Ashley: Thank you. I'm glad you think so. **

**KlarolinexDelenaxx: Thank you. I love that you read them. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, my lovely readers. Okay, so I meant to post this a long time ago but my mother went to the hospital at the end of June and life got crazy. So, feel free to follow me on my new account on tumblr under the name: queenofthedramedies. And please, check the bottom note for info on two new fics, one Haylijah and one Rebel. **

**This chapter is packed with intern bonding, attendee harassment (mainly Klaus) and Haylijah moments (mainly Hayley running from Elijah. However, he chases ;)). On with the show… **

Chapter 3: Take a Deep Breath

Plopping down in a seat at a table populated by her fellow interns, Hayley blew out a long breath. Everyone was talking about the various procedures they had seen and the attendees. They were also bitching about Dr. Bennett. Apparently Tyler thought that it was unfair to be put on scut duty for his first shift. Rebekah thought that Klaus was an ass but that had more to do with the past twenty-five years. Caroline was complaining that Kol had gotten handsy and told her to get his dry cleaning. Josh was the only one in the group that was happy.

"He is a monster. A bloody monster and should be drummed out of the medical field," Rebekah was telling them while waving a spoon from her yogurt cup.

"You want to have your brother drummed out of the medical field?" Caroline asked, her eyes wide but she began to giggle which spoiled the appearance of taking the situation seriously.

"I didn't do anything that I should have gotten stuck on scut," Tyler said, throwing the half of a tuna sandwich he had been eating on his tray.

"I thought that Kol was really nice," Josh said to which no one replied because they were too busy sulking. Deflating, Josh turned to Hayley. "How was your day?" He asked with a wide smile.

"Oh, it was okay," Hayley murmured. She held a green apple in front of her face to cover the smile that was trying to appear. When she thought about her day she thought of Elijah. Elijah of the suits and the long legs and the great hair. That man was going to be a problem. He had taken her outside for their mini coffee break and had pointed out his favorite tree to sit under when he needed to think. The coffee was good and standing beside him had felt natural. Listening to him talk to her about the patients and all of the things that she should look forward to also felt natural. It was a long, long list. Hayley could only stand and watch him in awe. He was just so damn… Perfect. Yeah, he was perfect. Or at least to her and she needed to see a crack in that perfection. She needed to know that he was not perfect because otherwise she would start to question whether the world was round. Because people were not perfect. So, what was under that exterior?

"Hayley," Caroline called.

"I think Josh broke her," Tyler observed, picking up his sandwich again and taking a big bite.

"I did not," Josh replied with a roll of his eyes. "She probably needs more coffee. I can go get it."

"No, you stay here and find out what kind of gossip she's harboring from us," Caroline said, pushing back her chair and heading off.

"She didn't even ask what kind coffee we wanted," Tyler complained, shoving a couple of French fries into his mouth.

"That's because my brother is over there getting coffee," Rebekah muttered, grabbing a French fry and shoving into her mouth.

Tyler pulled his tray out of Rebekah's reach. "Get your own fries, little rich girl," he snapped.

"I am not rich," Rebekah snapped back, she leaned over to get at the fries and Tyler shoved the tray away farther.

Hayley took that opportunity to move forward and yank the boat with the remaining fries off Tyler's tray. Tyler's eyes widened. "Not cool, Hales," he said as Hayley leaned back with a satisfied smirk. She held out the fries to Rebekah.

"Thank you, love," Rebekah called with a grin and stuck her tongue out at Tyler who was glowering at her.

"You both suck," Tyler muttered before getting up and leaving the table.

"Now, that he's gone, can we have a little girl talk?" Josh inquired lightly.

"Bloody hell," Rebekah said, staring intensely across the cafeteria.

Hayley's gaze moved across the room to see that Marcel had come to join Caroline and Klaus. They were all laughing about something and Klaus was carrying several cups of coffee on a tray and they were headed toward the table that the interns were sitting at. "Are they headed over here?" Hayley asked and Rebekah groaned.

"Yes, they are. Let's go," Rebekah slid out of her seat and began to hurry away. Josh looked at Hayley before getting up. Hayley was the last to slip out of her seat after collecting her uneaten sandwich, three cups of pudding, her partially eaten apple and the fries.

"Are you guys SERIOUSLY running away?" Caroline shouted after them. Hayley turned around and shrugged. Turning on her heel, she saw Josh walking out the door. Moving faster, she barely avoided running into Elijah who looked amused.

"Hayley, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Elijah called.

"Your sister. Got to go," Hayley called back to him and hurried off. By the time she caught up with Rebekah and Josh they were already headed out the door. Rebekah was holding the door open.

"We need fresh air. We've been inside that place for far too long and now we are covered in the smells of disinfectants and all things horrible." Rebekah announced, sitting down on a bench, she held out a hand in Hayley's direction. Hayley could only stare at her as Rebekah stared up wordlessly. "Pudding. Hand it over," she demanded. "Now, for the girl talk. I'm thinking of making out with Marcel. Or maybe just letting him buy me drinks while I flirt with other men tomorrow night after our shift is over."

"Marcel?" Josh looked thoughtful. "He's hot. Why are all the attendees so hot? Can't any of the interns be hot?"

Laughing, Hayley elbowed him. "Excuse me? Are you saying that your fellow interns are not hot?"

Josh smiled at her. "Of course, you're both great beauties but I meant male hotties."

"Oh, is Tyler not hot? If you can get past the part where he is a total ass," Rebekah inquired with an uplifted eyebrow.

"Yes, but I'm not his type. You might be his type or Hayley or any of the ladies around here. Or by the way that he was acting with some of nurses I would say that anyone who he assumed was female is his type," Josh rambled on and Hayley looked at Rebekah and they began to laugh.

"Oh, Josh. We will find you a nice guy. If there is such a specimen around this hospital. My father seems to be the king of hiring jackasses. Except for you. Does that mean that you are a spy, Josh? Should we hold you down and look for recording devices?" Rebekah asked Josh turning to him and reaching for his shirt.

Josh began to laugh as he moved to try to get away from Rebekah. Hayley wrapped her arms around him and held him still. Rebekah pulled his shirt up. "I don't see any recording devices," Hayley told Rebekah.

"What are you doing to that poor boy?" a voice called from behind them. Hayley's head spun around to see a tall, red head who had her hands on her hips.

"Sage," Rebekah sighed. "Josh. Hayley. Meet my sister-in-law and our ortho person."

Sage smiled at them. "So, you must be the new crop of interns that my husband was telling me about. I look forward to working with you." Hayley watched the woman walk away before she turned to Rebekah.

"Which brother is she married to?" Hayley asked, feeling her heart begin to pound in her chest. Maybe that was Elijah's imperfection. He was a man whore. Oh, God. That would be horrible if she had sex with the man whose wife broke bones for a living. She could see the woman with a hammer chasing her up and down the halls of the hospital.

"Finn. Sage is my brother Finn's wife," Rebekah replied with a roll of her eyes and a toss of her hair with a swift flick of her wrist.

"Oh, thank God," Hayley exhaled with a laugh that made Rebekah raise her eyebrows and purse her lips.

"And why did you want to know?" Rebekah inquired, giving Hayley her full attention as Josh turned to stare as well.

Hayley could feel her cheeks begin to burn under their gazes as she tried to think of something witty to say to get Rebekah to focus on something else. "I was just curious," she told the Mikaelson sister who smirked.

"I think that you like one of my brothers. Now, which one is it? Come, tell us. You're among friends," Rebekah said with a slow grin that made Hayley begin to feel panicky. Rebekah did not seem like the type to back down until you told them everything they wanted to know or they would hound you for weeks, months and possibly years.

"Is it Kol?" Josh asked with a dreamy smile. "He's cute. But then again they're all cute. Does your family do nothing but produce abnormally attractive people?" He asked Rebekah who began to laugh.

"Yes, we're all very pretty, Josh. Thank you. Now, stop trying to help Hayley and help me get information out of her," Rebekah demanded. "Let's start with Nik. Why anyone would like him is beyond me but there is no accounting for taste. So, tell us. Is he the man of your waking fantasies, hmmm?"

Biting her lip, Hayley debated whether she should go ahead and say that sure it was Klaus. Anything to get Rebekah to back off. She couldn't tell them the truth. She would never hear the end of it. Thankfully someone must have heard her silent plea for help. "There you are. I would have been all over the hospital grounds if it weren't for your brother," Caroline called as she came walking toward them with a scowl.

"My ears are burning. Who and why are you children talking about me?" Klaus inquired as he came and leaned against the bench behind his sister and began to twirl her ponytail.

"Get off of me, you freak," Rebekah snarled.

Klaus smirked down at her. "That is Dr. Mikaelson to you, my little intern," he informed her before patting her on the head.

"Why did you leave me like that? Did I say something wrong?" Caroline asked them, looking hurt. "I thought that lunch was going well and then the next thing I know you're just up and running away like I caught a disease."

"You were with Nik. So, it would not shock me if you did pick up a disease," Rebekah snapped.

"Rebekah," Hayley groaned although she was not sure why.

"She was consorting with the enemy. She cannot be trusted," Rebekah retorted, folding her arms over her chest.

"I was not consorting with your brother. He was in front of the coffee machine and I had no choice but to talk to him," Caroline defended herself with her arms folded over her own chest.

"There is always a choice, Caroline," Elijah called as he came walking toward them with Kol at his side. Hayley could only sit on the bench and feel her mind go blank. This was supposed to be their lunch break and here were most of their bosses. This was not a good thing. What were they supposed to do when they wanted to gossip about something?

"Who's talking about me?" Kol inquired with a grin.

"No one. You're not that interesting," Klaus snapped, leaning over and grabbing Rebekah's half eaten pudding cup.

"Hey," Rebekah shouted.

"Niklaus, give that back to her," Elijah demanded to which Klaus lifted the spoon and shoved it into his mouth before holding it out to Rebekah.

"You are disgusting," Rebekah snarled, getting off the bench and moving to stand beside Kol.

Klaus smiled before offering the spoon to Caroline who blinked before shaking her head "No." Shrugging, Klaus began to eat the rest of pudding. "Tell us what you three were plotting before my favorite intern and I found you," Klaus inquired after swallowing.

"Nothing. We were doing nothing," Hayley replied quickly which made Klaus, Kol and Elijah trade looks.

"Hayley, we were all interns at one time," Elijah told her with a smile that made her cheeks flush. Rebekah began to laugh again as she stared at Hayley and Hayley looked up at her. Yes, Rebekah had answered her question and Hayley was in for listening to hours and hours of teasing about her crush. This was just not fair considering they should be studying and learning all things medical, not talking about men.

"What is so amusing, Rebekah?" Elijah cocked his head to the side, examining Rebekah who was smiling at Hayley.

"Oh, nothing at all, Elijah," Rebekah said. "I think that our lunch break is over. Don't you have some grand procedure to show my fellow intern, Dr. Marshall?" Winking at Hayley, Rebekah turned to Klaus. "Now you horrid, evil, sadist brother of mine, what do you have to torture me with?"

Looking thoughtful, Klaus began to smile in a way that made Rebekah frown. "I could have you fill out all my post-op papers. Dear, I think that I might have forgotten to do that the whole day. And then there was a nurse that I might have insulted and need a nice fruit basket sent to. Oh, and if you could attend a meeting that Finn informed me that I must attend. You will need to take very specific notes. Anything that is said might be useful and then you could highlight each comment and place a post-it on anything of relevance. Then again anything could be relevant."

"You worthless son of a -" Rebekah started to say when Bonnie Bennett appeared behind her.

"What are all of you doing out here? You should be inside doing the work that you were hired to do. This is a freakin' hospital. Get. Go. MOVE," Bonnie shouted, shooing the interns toward the hospital. Whirling around, Bonnie began to yell at the attendees. "And what kind of example are you three providing? I swear if you were not the sons of the chief I would report you."

"You can report me for having a desire to take you out for a drink. And dancing. And dinner. And back to my place to do things that cause you to not be able to stand up tomorrow," Kol could be heard saying as Klaus began to tell him that he was sure that Dr. Bennett would rather take a rabid hyena to bed with her than Kol.

If asked, Hayley would admit that she was disappointed that she was unable to hear Kol's retort as Caroline broke through her thoughts. "O'Connell's, tomorrow night. Right?"

"Huh?" Hayley's brow scrunched as she stared at the perky blonde.

"The bar, Hayley," Rebekah said, narrowing her eyes as she saw Marcel leaning over the reception desk as he spoke to the nurse there. "Bloody hell."

"Dibs?" Caroline inquired with a giggle. She exchanged a look with Josh who nodded.

"Dibs what?" Rebekah snapped, never taking her eyes off of Marcel.

"Hayley," Elijah called, coming to stand beside her.

"You have dibs on Marcel," Caroline said and then noticed that Elijah looked quite amused at the way that Rebekah's shoulders squared and her back stiffened.

"This could be interesting," Josh whispered to them as Rebekah turned to glare at Caroline.

"Who and what I have dibs on is my business. Not yours. However, if you would like a shot at him, go for it. Enjoy," fuming Rebekah stalked off.

"Does that mean she's not going to the bar with us tomorrow night?" Caroline asked the group with wide eyes.

Elijah chuckled as he took Hayley by the elbow and began to lead her toward the staircase. "Where are we going?" Hayley asked, watching the intense look on Elijah's face as he opened a door and led her through.

"We're going up to the roof to hide from your resident because I actually have more than half an hour between patients and I do not expect my interns to do everything for me like Niklaus so you have some time as well." Elijah stated as they walked up the stairs.

"You want to walk all the way up to the roof?" Hayley said, staring up toward the ceiling. That was a lot of walking.

"Don't worry. We can take breaks if you get winded. But you should go ahead and get used to walking up and down these stairs," Elijah said quietly. Hayley wondered if he was always this quiet. Soon they were on the sixth floor and she found that she needed to take a break. Sitting down on the stairs, Hayley tried to slow her breathing. She had been determined to not show Elijah how out of shape she was. Now, she felt like her lungs were on fire.

"Slow down," Elijah whispered. He came to kneel in front of her and took her face between his hands. "Slow," he ordered, looking into her eyes and Hayley drew in a deep breath before allowing it to blow between her lips. All she could think of was the depth of his eyes. This was so wrong. He was her boss. She needed to get a grip. Moving his hand upward, Elijah pushed a stray chunk of hair behind her ear. She needed to get a haircut and she needed for this man to kiss her.

"Alright now?" Elijah inquired, searching Hayley's eyes.

"Yes. I think so," Hayley replied, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet.

They walked up the final four flights and Elijah pulled the door open. Hayley gasped as she looked out at the night skyline and the city below. The view was amazing as Elijah took her hand and walked her closer to the edge. "This is beautiful," she whispered.

"Yes, it is," Elijah said and Hayley looked up to find him staring down at her.

'Oh, man, I am in so much trouble,' Hayley thought as she stared up at Elijah. "Screw it," she murmured before wrapping both arms around his neck and kissing him, pulling him close so there was no room between them. Feeling his arms wrap around her waist and lifting her off her feet, Hayley found something that she thought was a lot more beautiful than the New Orleans skyline at night with the full moon glowing down. This kiss. This was a thing of indescribable beauty.

**I hope that this chapter was worth the wait and I am super psyched about TO which will be premiering one month from now. Has anyone else seen the sneak peek because it was so intriguing? I can't wait to see the Mikaelson family reunited again. Oh, and hybrid Hayley. Holy shit! And Davina was made into a series regular. Now, they just need to promote Josh like ASAP. I also want to say that I have a couple more chapters pre-written for this story so I'm going to try to send out new chapters every week and on premiere week. Only other news is that I have two more babies that I'm going to be posting entitled **_**I'll**__**be**__**There**__**for**__**You**_**, a Haylijah all human fic and **_**You**__**Don't**__**Own**__**Me,**_** a Rebel human fic today. So, please, feel free to check them out. **

**Answers to review questions:**

**OriginalS6Geek: I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Jez: Thank you. I'm happy that you're enjoying this fic and I would love to update it more often but I really need to finish up some of the others so it's easier to concentrate of this one.**

**Yeahuhhuh: Thank you and I will try to update next week and until the premiere of the Originals season 2. Super happy ****ly face.**

**MeliaAlexander: Thank you. It's really fun to write and everyone who reviews this story has been really nice which makes it easier to write. **

**Guest: I hope that you enjoyed the kiss at the end of the chapter. I love to write about Klaus and Kol in this fic. They're crazy as always. **

**Hanim: I hope you like the progression of Haylijah. **

**Magnolia123: Thank you. I feel better off and on like most of my works… **

**Guest: I hope that you enjoyed the update! **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, my lovely readers. In honor of there being a little over four weeks until the premiere of TO season 2, I will be trying to give you a new update each week and on premiere week. We shall see. On with the show… **

Chapter 4: Just a Little Bit of Sleep

At two o'clock in the morning, Hayley could not stay up. She had to take a nap. Just a little one. The tiniest of naps in the on call room. Yawning, she dropped onto the truly uncomfortable bed and closed her eyes. Within seconds her eyelids were tightly shut and she was dreaming. Elijah was wearing a suit and they were dancing, making slow circles on a floor that had no other couples on it.

Smiling in her sleep, Hayley felt something drop onto the mattress beside her. One eyelid flipped upward and she looked at Rebekah who was yawning. "Rebekah, what are you doing?" Hayley asked. She did not have the energy to move.

"Lockwood is on one of the other beds and then there was an intern with a smell about him and the one who talks in their sleep and the -" Rebekah was saying with her arm over her eyes.

"Whatever. Just don't knock me out of the bed," Hayley replied with a yawn and rolled onto her side. As soon as she began to drift back to her lovely dream she felt the bed shift again. "What the hell?" She moaned, opening her eyes to find that Caroline had laid down on her side. "Caroline," Hayley groaned.

"Yeah," Caroline replied, her lids fluttering.

"Go sleep with Tyler," Hayley murmured.

"You first," Caroline snapped before rolling so that her back was facing Hayley.

Rolling her eyes, Hayley began to go back to sleep when someone else settled down on the bed. "Okay. That is enough. One is not so bad. Two is a bit too much. Three should not be legal but four is where I draw the line."

Blinking, Hayley found that Klaus was grinning back at her. "Yes, well, if I were to take part in a foursome it would not include my sister. Your shift with Elijah is done which means that it is time to rotate."

"You want me on your service?" Hayley asked him, feeling shocked as she yawned.

"No," Klaus told her. "But you were Kol's first pick. Therefore I thought I would rather nip that in the bud. And since he took two last time I will be taking you and Caroline. Up you go, love," he called, getting to his feet and watching as Caroline forced herself to her feet as well so that Hayley could get out of the bed.

"Maybe you should let her sleep and then come and get her later," Hayley suggested as Caroline began to sway on her feet.

In response, Caroline stretched and forced a grin. "I'm good. Nothing that an extra strong cup of coffee won't take care of."

"That's the sprit, sweetheart. All the interns should take that attitude," Klaus told them. "Wake up you lazy, worthless fools," Klaus shouted, causing several interns to shriek in terror. "Now, that's the way it should be. Get up! Time to work instead of pretending that you care for the patients of this hospital. Do you think that I became the head of Pediatrics by laying about and taking naps? No, I was up for eighty and ninety hour shifts. Now, go. You all make me sick!"

"What a charming bedside manner you have," Hayley snorted as she and Caroline walked out the door.

"Oh, I have quite the lovely bedside manner. Thank you," Klaus murmured and Caroline stared at the ceiling as he stared at her.

"Oh, goody," Hayley muttered to herself. What she really wanted to do was spend the next twenty four hours listening to one of her bosses harass her fellow intern. Why couldn't she not still be on Elijah's service?

"We're going to go visit some of my patients," Klaus announced, lacing his fingers behind his back and walking ahead of them.

"Shouldn't they be asleep at this hour?" Caroline asked, looking at Hayley with a confused expression.

Klaus did not respond. Instead, he stopped in front of the bank of elevators and began to whistle as the elevator moved downward. "Caroline, what is your favorite drink?" he asked, without looking at her.

"Vodka," Caroline replied. "Why?" Klaus shrugged with a smirk on his face. He did not reply to her question and Caroline stared at him with a frown.

"Hayley, how did your shift go with Elijah?" Caroline asked as she turned her back on Klaus once they boarded the elevator.

"Good. It was a good shift. Very informative," Hayley replied as she watched the numbers tick by.

"Yes, that is a wonderful way to say absolutely nothing at all," Klaus interjected and Caroline gave him a dirty look.

"So, do you think that you still want to get into neurology?" Caroline continued as if Klaus was not there which made his smirk widen.

"Yeah. I think that it's a good field. Elijah promised to let me observe a surgery for a woman with a tumor on her cerebral cortex," Hayley informed Caroline. She did not add that he had made that promise after a very hot and intense make out session on the roof.

"And which field do you plan on going into, Caroline?" Klaus inquired, his eyebrows rising as he spoke and his body moving closer to hers.

"I have no idea," Caroline said as the elevator doors opened and she darted out.

"I think she likes me," Klaus told Hayley confidently.

"I think that she would like to see you on the operating table with a scalpel in your throat to prevent you from speaking to her anymore," Hayley retorted to which Klaus sneered.

"We will see about that one," Klaus said quietly.

"I'm sure that we will," Hayley replied as she followed him down the hall.

Klaus stopped in front of a door and peered inside. Staring at the floor for a moment, he pushed the door open. "Hello, Thierry," he called to a boy who was sitting on the bed with a flashlight and a book in his hands. "I see that you're catching up on your reading."

The boy smiled sitting up on the bed. "Yeah, I read this one like five times but it never gets old."

"What's it about?" Klaus inquired as he came to sit on the boy's bed.

"Vampires," the boy said. "A family of old vampires who come to a town and try to take it over. But they have to face all these other vampires and witches and werewolves and stuff. It's really cool. You should read it sometime."

"How about you read it to me sometime when you're feeling well. Deal?" Klaus said and the boy nodded.

"Who are they?" Thierry asked, looking at Hayley and Caroline.

"These are the two young ladies who will be helping me today," Klaus told him.

"They're hot," Thierry said and Caroline began to giggle.

Klaus smirked. "Yes, well, I think they're a bit old for you. Perhaps I can look around and see if there are any girls your age on the ward. I'll set you up for a cup of tea and couple of scones."

"Blec," Thierry wrinkled his nose. "What am I, fifty?"

Klaus began to chuckle. "Do I look fifty?"

"Nah, you look about forty," Thierry replied and Hayley had to hold her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing aloud at the look on Klaus' face.

Coughing, Klaus shook his head and then smiled. "When I am forty you can bake me a cake."

Thierry looked thoughtful for a moment. "How old are you now?"

Klaus turned to look at Caroline and then sighed. "Thirty-two," he said.

"Liar," Thierry replied with a grin.

Shaking his head with broad smile, Klaus told him. "I can't get anything past you, can I? You're right. I'm thirty-five," he told the child who smiled triumphantly.

"I knew that you were lying because you have these little lines here," Thierry placed his hands on Klaus' face and moved them over the skin around his mouth and then the skin under his eyes. "That's how I knew how old you were."

"Caroline, would you like to grab the chart and present the case," Klaus called.

"But we're not supposed to talk to or about the patients. Dr. Bennett said so," Caroline told him in a rush before closing her mouth abruptly when Klaus began to stare at her.

"Is Dr. Bennett here?" Klaus inquired. "Let's see." Getting up, he looked under the bed. "Nope. She's not under the bed." Striding over to the closet, he opened the door and peered inside. "Not in here either." Looking around, Klaus shrugged. "No, I do not think that she's in here." Picking up the chart, he held it out to Hayley. "Here, since your fellow intern does not want to follow her orders."

"But," Caroline protested when Klaus gave her a dark look that made her close her mouth.

"Thierry Johnson. Ten years old. The patient was admitted two weeks ago to undergo further treatment for leukemia," Hayley stated slowly before looking at the child on the bed.

"Does that sound right, Thierry?" Klaus asked, rocking on his heels as Thierry nodded.

"Yup, can you get me a hot chocolate?" Thierry asked.

"Yes, and tomorrow I will even take you downstairs and get you some cake and we can go outside and take a walk. How does that sound?" Klaus asked with another smile. Honestly, Hayley was not sure that she had seen him smile that often since she had met him in the last twenty-four hours.

"It's two-thirty so it is tomorrow," Thierry pointed out, looking at his digital clock.

"Later tomorrow. And you're going to brush your teeth after the cake extra well this time," Klaus ordered.

Falling back on his pillows, Thierry sighed. "Right. Whatever. Can I at least finish the chapter before I go to sleep?" he asked, looking at Klaus with wide eyes.

"You can sleep when you're dead," Klaus replied with a wink and Thierry laughed in response. "Right then. Have a good night," Klaus called. He strode over, opened the door ushering Hayley and Caroline out.

They walked behind Klaus in silence until Caroline began to whisper fervently. "I cannot believe that he was allowing that boy to stay up half the night. He needs sleep to get better and the comment about sleeping when you die is just so callous. Can you believe that he said that? I would never do that. Do you think that Elijah would do that? I don't think that he would? And what would Dr. Bennett say if one of us said something like that. Seriously."

Caroline was rambling when Klaus suddenly whirled around and strode back to stand an inch from her face. "I'm sorry, Dr. Forbes. I must seem like the most insensitive man that you have ever known. However, if you had been listening while you were in that room rather than checking off on the tiny chart in your brain of all the offenses that one may make you would have noticed that my patient is dying. That is the truth. There is no cutting corners. So, if he wants to read a book all night or drink chocolate and eat cake then he can."

Whirling back around, Klaus began to stride away. "Seriously," Caroline yelled after him.

Stopping, Klaus' shoulders rose as he turned to stare back at Caroline. "Seriously what?"

"Seriously, he could get better. But he has to take care of himself if he's going to get better," Caroline said slowly. "Right? He could get better."

"No. Caroline," Klaus replied shaking his head slowly. "No, he is not going to get better." Moving back to stand in front of the blonde, he stared down at her. "Do not ever question how I treat my patients again. Do you understand?" Caroline only stood there and stared at him. Hayley felt bad for the other woman as she stood there not seeming to be able to speak for once.

Klaus leaned closer and stared into Caroline's eyes. "Nod if you understand what I just told you, Caroline."

Nodding, Caroline was shaking when Klaus turned away from her. "Get the hot chocolate, bring it to me in my office and then go find Dr. Bennett. I no longer desire you on my service," Klaus announced. Walking toward the stairs, Klaus turned to look at Hayley. "Come with me, Dr. Marshall."

Hayley looked at Caroline who was breathing hard and Hayley could tell that Caroline was about to lose it. "I'm sorry, Dr. Mikaelson. Respectfully, I would like to join Caroline in picking up the patient's hot chocolate. If you would like a cup of coffee I could do that, too," waiting with fear coursing through her body because Hayley knew that Klaus might decide to shroud her, too.

Smirking with no pleasure, Klaus nodded. "Sure. Of course. When you're done, come to my office and we will continue to the ER."

"Okay. Yes. I will be there as soon as possible," Hayley told him. Moving toward the elevators, she punched the button to go down and waited for it to come with impatience. When the doors opened, she stepped in with Caroline. Hitting the button to get to the coffee cart in the lobby, Hayley began to tap her foot. Her mind was moving quickly when she heard a sniffle. Looking over, she found that Caroline had tears streaming down her eyes and her nose was red. Moving to stand in front of Caroline, Hayley stared at her. "Stop it. Now!" She demanded and Caroline's head snapped upward.

"What?" Caroline said, wiping the tears away.

"Stop crying. Do you think that you're the first intern that Klaus Mikaelson has been a dick to? And do you think that that kid is the only kid that you're ever going to meet who is not going to make it?" Hayley snapped, searching Caroline's eyes.

"No," Caroline said, her voice hitching. "It's just that we should be able to fix him. We should. That is why we're here. To save lives. But that little boy. And Klaus. He just acts like it's not a big deal. It's a big deal. It's a very, very big deal. He's just a little boy. And he's going to die. And that is not right. It's not right. Okay, Hayley. It's not ooookkkkaaaayyyyyy." Dissolving into tears, Caroline wrapped her arms around herself.

"Suck it up, Caroline," Hayley said. "It sucks. It really freakin' sucks but you have to learn how to cope with the fact that life sucks. Now, dry your tears and let's get that child his chocolate."

Sucking in a shallow breath, Caroline nodded and got out of the elevator. Hayley followed her out. They found that Rebekah was up and standing in front of the cart. "Good morning. Aw, Caroline did my brother show you his extraordinary bedside manner," Rebekah inquired noticing Caroline's bloodshot eyes.

"Klaus is a dick," Hayley told Rebekah who nodded.

"Good morning, ladies," Tyler called from behind them and Hayley cringed when he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Oh, look who's up from his three hour nap," Rebekah said with a gleam in her eye. "You do know that Dr. Bennett has been looking for you, right? I think that she was saying that you would be on SCUT again today if she could not find you by 3:00." Holding up her wrist, Rebekah grinned. "Oh, look at that. It's 2:55. Off you go."

Looking panicked, Tyler turned around and ran off. Smirking, Rebekah turned back to Hayley and Caroline. "Are you two enjoying my brother's company?"

"No," Hayley and Caroline replied at the same time. "How do you know that we're on his service?" Hayley asked Rebekah who pulled the lid off her coffee cup and began to swirl the contents.

"When you work in a place with all four of your brothers and your sister-in-law you know that it is necessary to sleep lightly. Besides the sound of Nik's voice would wake me out of the soundest of sleep because he's always up to something," Rebekah told them. "Now, what are you doing down here?"

"We're getting a patient a cup of hot chocolate," Hayley informed Rebekah who raised an eyebrow.

"At this time of night?" Rebekah replied, watching Caroline walk over to the coffee stand and order drinks. "What exactly did he do to her? She's not doing that thing where she just talks incessantly. Huh, I think it might be an improvement."

"They had an argument and he told her he didn't want her on his shift," Hayley told Rebekah who sighed.

"He'll get over it," Rebekah told Hayley. "He will be pissed and he'll torture her until she does something he finds worthy of allowing her to come back. Because that is Nik. The more he likes you the more he expects. He will punish her horribly. Then he will allow her to come back."

"Hmmm," Hayley replied as she watched Caroline collect a tray. "Caroline, what is all of that?" She could see four cups on the tray and she was confused because Klaus had not said he wanted anything and she hadn't mentioned anything.

"One hot chocolate. One mocha latte for you with a dollop whole milk. One black coffee with two creamers, a sugar and a packet of chocolate biscotti for Klaus. And One French vanilla cappuccino for me," Caroline told them before heading for the elevator. Pushing the button so that they could get to Klaus office, she waited for Hayley who came to stand beside her with Rebekah.

They got onto the elevator in silence and Caroline hit a button. "That's not the floor that Nik's office is on," Rebekah told Caroline.

"I know. I'm taking Thierry his chocolate first because it'll get cold," Caroline said quickly. As soon as the doors opened, she got off and hurried down the hall. Hayley and Rebekah waited for her to come back.

Fifteen minutes later they were on the elevator headed toward Klaus' office. Getting off, they walked down the hall with Rebekah in the lead. "Here," she said, nodding toward the closed door. "I will wait for you outside."

Hayley knocked on the door. "Come in," Klaus called. He was sitting at his desk with a pile of charts lying to his left. Not looking up from the chart that he was studying, he did not acknowledge the coffee and the biscotti that were laid down in front of him. When Caroline left the room, Klaus looked up. Picking up the cup of coffee, he took a sip. "Are you ready to get your first taste of what it's like to work in the ER?" he asked Hayley as he got up. Without waiting for a response he grabbed the biscotti, shoved it into his pocket and walked out the door.

When they entered the ER, Hayley saw that the room was packed with people who were bleeding from various wounds and crying. It was utter chaos and Hayley felt her adrenaline begin to pump through her veins. This was going to be fun. "Hayley, get over here and tell me what is wrong with this patient," Klaus shouted, making Hayley jump. Fun could be overrated.

**In this chapter we got to see more of Hayley's interactions with other characters than Elijah. I hope that you enjoyed the interactions and do not worry there will be more Haylijah coming up. **

**Thank you to everyone who has faved, followed, is reading and/or reviewed this fic or me as an author.**

**Answers to review questions: **

**Magnolia: I know. There was this debate going on in my head about whether to drag out the tension between Hayley and Elijah for a bit of time. In the end I decided to just let them have a moment since they had already had sex before the story starts. However, the kiss does not mean that they're going to get together just yet. **

**Suuz Pooz: **

**Lyzz Cullen: Thank you. **

**Yeahuhhuh: It's a lot of fun to write about all of the characters and I love to write about the Mikaelsons squabbling like over-age children. Thank you for enjoying this treatment of Haylijah. Hope you enjoy the update. **

**Peace, **

**Jessica **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, my lovely readers. In this chapter we will have little bit of everyone with a teeny appearance by Klaus. There's a lot of Kol and Hayley while she rotates through her shift and more Haylijah moments.**

Chapter 5: Running on Empty

"Wake up," Kol said, snapping his fingers in front of Hayley's face. "Dear God, they're completely useless," he said, scowling. Elijah raised an eyebrow at his brother. Rebekah yawned and then looked at the patients that were being wheeled into the ER. After Klaus had become bored with torturing Hayley he had passed her off to Kol. Rebekah was on Elijah's service. Tyler and Josh were on Marcel's. Caroline was nowhere to be seen and Hayley thought that Dr. Bennett had taken her off somewhere.

"Shit," Tyler yelped as a patient that had been bitten by a dog bit the intern. "Can someone get restraints on that dude," Tyler shouted, his face contorting with disbelief.

"Why don't you do it? It's not like you're being useful. I would say that your fifty shades of useless," Rebekah called to Tyler who sneered at her.

Kol held up his hand and the siblings high fived as Elijah sighed, he placed his stethoscope to a young woman's chest. "Can you breathe in for me? And then out, Once more," Elijah said, listening intensely as Tyler and Rebekah began to argue. Hayley wondered how he was able to concentrate with all the yelling.

"I think that we need to have further tests run but your heart is beating extremely quickly. Have you had changes in your breathing where it feels as if it is difficult to inhale," Elijah asked the patient.

"Yes. When I run sometimes it's like I start gasping for breath," the patient told him. "I never used to have that problem. It's like my lungs are on fire."

"And how long has that been going on?" Elijah inquired, looking at Hayley as she made a note on the chart of the symptoms that she was describing.

"About a month now. I didn't want to come in but my boyfriend insisted," the woman said as she looked at Elijah anxiously. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"I cannot say for sure yet. We will need to run further tests and you are very lucky because our best cardiologist happens to be standing right over there," Elijah tipped his head toward Marcel who was talking to Tyler and another patient. "Hayley, could you?" Raising his eyebrows, Elijah waited for Hayley to understand what he wanted her to do.

"Sure. I'll be back," Hayley crossed the room and came to stand close to Marcel. "Dr. Gerard."

"Yes, Hayley," Marcel replied, turning to look down at her and Tyler began to fill out a chart.

"Dr. Miklaelson has a patient with an irregular heartbeat and I think that he would like you to take a look at her," Hayley told Marcel who grinned and folded his arms over his chest.

"You think, or you know?" Marcel asked with a teasing smile.

Hayley's eyebrows rose as she tried to figure out what it was that Marcel wanted her to say. "I know," she told him with a firm nod.

"Good. Now, let's go check up on that patient. Tyler, you coming, or are you enjoying standing there trying to look busy?" Marcel called to Tyler who groaned and followed them. "Hey, Elijah, what's up? Dr. Marshall here tells me that you have a woman with a possible heart problem?" Smiling at the woman on the bed, Marcel extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Dr. Marcel Gerard. I'm going to take a look at your heart and we'll see if our head heart guy can figure out if you have a problem with your ticker?" Winking at the patient, Marcel took Elijah's place and placed his stethoscope to the woman's chest. "Okay, big breathe in annndddddd out."

Smiling, Marcel got up. "Okay, I am going to order a heart echo and I want you to sit back and relax. Is there any kind of magazine that you like or something that my intern can bring you while you wait?" he inquired.

"Instyle," she said.

"Alright. One copy of Instyle coming up. And did anyone come in here with you?" Marcel asked.

"Yes, my boyfriend. He's in the lobby because he thought that you might draw blood and he's got a thing about blood. He faints," she said and Tyler began to laugh until Marcel narrowed his eyes and Tyler covered his laughter with a cough.

Turning to Tyler, Marcel stared at him with a serious expression. "Get the lady her magazine and her boyfriend, and try to _not_ be you." Without another word, Marcel strode away. Elijah followed him with Hayley trailing them. "You were right, Lij. There is something _very_ wrong with her heart, but I won't know for sure what it is until the tests come back. It's too bad that the boyfriend has a thing about blood because I'm going to need samples."

"What do you think that it is?" Hayley asked. She couldn't help herself. The idea of being able to get in there and actually start working with the patients felt like it was taking forever.

"It could be a number of things. She could have a clot. It could be the early signs of an on-coming heart attack or a stroke. I'll have Tyler take the patient's family history. That should tell us whether there's a possibility that the problem is genetic or what other factors could have contributed to the problem. That should limit the possibilities. I hope." Marcel told her. "If the echo doesn't pick up anything then we will keep running tests until I find out what's going on in that young lady's chest. Otherwise, she'll go home and end up back here in a week or a month from now _probably_ in a bag. It's my job to make sure that doesn't happen."

Elijah smiled as he watched Hayley hang on Marcel's every word. He could tell that she wanted to get in on an actual procedure. "Let's go back and see if we can find an interesting case," he said, placing a hand on Hayley's back and gently turning her in another direction.

"What does a _really_ good procedure look like?" Hayley whispered to him and then she saw it. It was the most magnificent thing. There was a man with an axe in his head. "_Oh_,' she sighed in awe.

"Yes. _Oh_," Elijah said, smiling at her before moving quickly toward the man. "Hello, sir. I'm Dr. Mikaelson, let me take you to a bed," he said as the man looked at him with glazed eyes. Helping the man to sit down, Elijah came to stand before him. "Can you tell me how this happened, sir?" he asked as Hayley stared at the axe with a glow in her eye that he remembered from when he was intern. She was hungry.

"My wife stuck this in there. The bitch," the man said, reaching his hand upward, he was about to touch the axe when Elijah grabbed his arm, restraining him.

"I would _not_ do that if I were you," Elijah warned the man as he examined the wound.

"Why the hell _not_?" the man demanded. "I came here so that you bunch of _quacks_ could get this _thing_ out of my head." The man started to get up to leave when Elijah placed a hand on the man's chest.

"Sir, you do not want to leave. I cannot take the axe out of your head at this moment because we risk giving you permanent brain damage," Elijah said as slowly as he could while the man glared at him.

"So, you're saying, _what_ here, that I have to sit with a _freakin'_ _axe_ in my head until you _decide_ that it's time to pull the thing out. I want to talk to your _boss_," the man demanded.

Hayley moved closer to the patient. "Sir, I'm sure that Dr. Mikaelson is doing his best to help you. He is the head of our neurology department."

"Oh, _goody_ for me. I got the head of the freakin' department who _wants_ to leave an axe in my head. Well, does the head of neuro have a boss?" the man snapped at Hayley who narrowed her eyes but forced a smile and took a step back.

Elijah sighed. "I can have the chief paged, but it might be some time before he can arrive and in the meantime we should take the time to look at the wound to determine what we can do." The man grunted a response as Elijah grabbed a pair of gloves and began to examine the wound. "You're a lucky man, I can attest to that. Your wife managed to avoid entering into areas that would impair your speech or ability to move. However, you might experience memory loss. It all depends upon what happens once we remove the axe."

"She was trying to kill me," the man said angrily as he looked at his hands.

"May I ask why your wife was trying to kill you?" Elijah inquired.

The man gave him a long look. "Cause I slept with her sister."

Hayley looked at the ceiling and counted to ten to prevent herself from letting out a laugh. "Man, axe to the head," Tyler exclaimed as he came to stand next her. "Can I help? Looks like you could use an extra set of hands."

"Actually, Tyler, if you have nothing better to do, then you could try to track down the chief," Elijah told him as began to irrigate the wound to prevent infection.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Of course I get stuck with going fetch. Why did I even apply to medical school? Why not enter into a dog training program?"

"Because it would be confusing for the dogs to have another of their kind teaching them new tricks," Rebekah replied with a smirk as she appeared. "Now, shoo. Hayley, Kol is looking for you and he's in a horrid mood so I wouldn't make him wait."

Sighing, Hayley trudged away while Rebekah got all the glory of dealing with Mr. Axe in the head. And now Hayley was stuck with getting yelled at by Kol and probably told to get him a scone. "How's the bite, Ty? Feeling like biting any of your co-workers yet?" she asked with a smirk as they headed out of the ER.

"I'll bite you anytime you want. All you have to do is ask," Tyler replied, snapping his teeth at her and Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Keep dreaming," Hayley told him as they entered the stairwell.

Chuckling, Tyler placed his hands over his heart. "Oh, Dr. Marshall, I thinking I'm having a heart attack. Yup. Then I'll pass out and you'll be forced to give me mouth to mouth."

Hayley shook her head. "No. No way. No how! I'll page Rebekah."

"Rebekah?" Tyler groaned. "She'd pay one of the patients to do it. More than likely one with an infectious disease like mono."

"Tyler has mono?" Caroline asked as she pushed the door open and stared at Tyler with a look of shock. "Ew."

"What smells?" Tyler asked and Caroline looked at her hair.

"A kid puked on me while I was doing SCUT," Caroline informed them and Tyler wrinkled his nose; then he grinned.

"You might want to take a shower. Speaking of which I could help you with the hard to reach areas," Tyler said with a wriggle of his eyebrows and Caroline made a gagging face while Hayley laughed.

"If you have time to joke you have time to work," Dr. Bennett yelled at them from the top of the stairs.

"Someone needs to put a bell on her," Tyler suggested in a whisper.

"I heard that," Dr. Bennett yelled and Tyler frowned as they trudged up the stairs. "Why aren't you people with your attendees?"

"Because we got lost," Tyler told her and Dr. Bennett narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't try to be cute with me, Lockwood, I know your type. Now, go do whatever it is that you were ordered to do. Marshall, Kol is on the fifth floor and he has a case that he wants you to observe. Forbes, we need you to be back in the pit," Dr. Bennett told them before she headed toward the door to the second floor.

Caroline moaned as she looked at Hayley. "I'll see you later, I guess."

"Bye," Hayley called as she hurried up the stairs. It felt like she was mountain climbing as she arrived at the fifth floor. Stopping to shove the door open, she entered the floor and looked around for Kol who was nowhere in sight. Of course he wasn't, that was typical Kol she could tell.

"There you are," Kol cried from behind Hayley. She jumped and turned to give him a death glare. Boss or no boss, she was not going to put up with his crap for the next seven years. "I was going to have a nurse collect you, but then I found something more interesting to do with her."

Feeling her jaw drop, Hayley shook off the disgust and followed Kol down the hall to a room. "Please, try to not say anything stupid to my patient," Kol ordered her. She sneered as he turned his back and they entered the room.

Entering the patient's room, Hayley found a young man lying on the bed. He looked to be in his early teens and had a bandage over his nose. "Frankie, how are you today, darling?" Kol exclaimed as if the boy was his best friend and the boy smiled back at him brightly. "Marshall, present," Kol demanded as he began to pull the bandage off Frankie's nose.

"Frankie Belvenes, age fifteen. The patient came in to have his nose reconstructed." Hayley announced as she read the chart.

"Frankie lost his nose when he was five. The family dog," Kol explained. "He is going to a school dance this Friday with the girl of his dreams and he wants to look his best. And that is what I promised him that I would do for him. No more prosthetics, right?" Kol inquired with a wide grin.

Hayley felt confused about why it was that it was taking the boy until now to get his nose fixed. However, she did not ask. Instead, she kept her mouth closed as Kol continued to talk and Frankie listened. "You will need to be very careful with this new nose. I do not want to have you coming back."

When Kol was done, he escorted Hayley out of the room. "Why has it taken him so long to get this procedure done?" Hayley asked Kol.

"His parents are a bit of what I would call '_fanatics_.' They do not believe in having procedures like Frankie's done. The child had to save up the money to have it done himself. Can you imagine?" Kol inquired as he began to write notes on another chart. "Next up, we will be giving a nice woman a pair of sweater bunnies."

"You're such a pig," Hayley muttered under her breath while staring at the ceiling.

"_What_ was that?" Kol inquired with a grin that seemed more malicious then friendly. That seemed to be a trait that ran in the family and somehow Elijah had escaped. Of course she did not know Finn well enough to judge… "Go and get me a muffin and coffee," Kol demanded jerking Hayley out of her thoughts and she shook her head. "That was not a yes or no inquiry," he snapped before closing the chart and walking away.

'Great,' Hayley thought. 'Now, I'm on Kol's bad side. Caroline is on Klaus.' Tyler is on every one's. Rebekah doesn't seem to care. And Josh is probably okay with everyone, because everyone loves Josh."

That last one turned out to not be true as Hayley would find out when she walked down the next flight of steps to find Josh sitting on a window sill with his head in his hands. He was covered in blood and was crying. "Josh, _what_ happened?" Hayley demanded as she hurried over to kneel before her friend.

"I… I… I was trying help. He said it hurt. I was only trying to help him. I didn't know. I didn't _know_. Oh, my God," Josh sobbed as he looked at Hayley, his eyes wide and she could tell he was in shock. "I _killed_ him," he muttered as he stared at his hands which Hayley noticed were covered in blood. "I was only trying to _help_ him. He said it hurt _too_ much."

"What did you do, Josh?" Hayley questioned her fellow intern as he stared at his hands. "_Who_ did you try to help?"

"The man. The man with the axe. He said it _hurt_. He said it hurt _so_ much. And I just wanted to _help_ him. Because we're here to help people, _right_, Hayley, we're supposed to help them. But when I pulled it out there was so much _blood_. It went _everywhere_. And I couldn't stop the bleeding and Dr. Mikaelson told me that I was a fool and to get out. 'Just get out,' he told me. So, I went and here I am. And I'm covered in that man's blood. Do you know if he had a family? Someone should call his family." Josh was babbling and Hayley placed a hand to his cheek which was still covered in blood.

"Hey, Josh, _look_ at me," Hayley called. Josh stopped talking and stared at her. "You need to get a shower. _Okay_?" she asked gently.

"Okay," Josh murmured and Hayley helped him to stand up. "I didn't _mean_ to kill him," he whispered.

"I know you didn't. Come on. Let's go," Hayley murmured when Caroline appeared from the bottom of the steps.

"Hey, what's going on?" Caroline asked, her eyes wide. "Is he _okay_?" Hayley shook her head at Caroline who was hurrying up the stairs.

"I killed a patient," Josh told Caroline who looked shocked but changed her expression quickly.

"I'm sure you didn't mean to, Josh. Now, let's get you cleaned up," Caroline murmured and they helped their friend downstairs and into the interns' locker room. The two women had to half carry Josh to the showers and Josh didn't protest when they helped him undress and get into the shower. They were doctors. They got the giggles overseeing the opposite sex naked during Gross Anatomy.

Sitting on a bench to give Josh some privacy, Hayley looked at Caroline. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier about the whole Klaus and the dying kid thing," Hayley said quietly.

Caroline shrugged. "I need to not be so judgmental, which is hard," letting out a strained giggle, Caroline looked at the lockers. "I mean it's hard to judge people when we're going to do really stupid things sometimes."

"Guess _who_ killed someone," Tyler called as he entered the locker room and Hayley placed her finger to her lips. "_What_?" Tyler snapped. "Come on, I bet _all_ of you had money on the idea that _I_ was going to be the first double O seven. _Honestly_, people?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be next," Rebekah announced as she entered the locker room with a smirk. "Just you wait and see. Oh, and, Hayley, Kol wants to know where, "Where in the bloody hell that intern who thinks he is a pig is?" Rebekah informed Hayley as she pulled her locker open. "I guess he wants you to have a front row seat to a breast augmentation. Thinks you might consider your own options."

Hayley's jaw dropped. "That little weasel," she snarled.

"You know it might not be such a bad idea," Tyler called as Hayley slapped him in the back of the head on her way out the door. The day was getting better and better.

**I want to take the time to tell my readers that I do update my stories based on the amount of reviews I receive. Although I did give readers a challenge to let me know which stories that they most like to see an update of that is not usually how I write. Usually it's a matter of inspiration and timing. At the moment I was able to find both to be able to write through chapter eight for this story. **

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and for reviewing.**

**Answers to review questions:**

**Yeahuhhuh: Ha ha. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Lyzz Cullen: Thank you. **

**Magnolia123: Thank you. I hope you like the others too because I am continually trying to develop the supporting cast's roles and see how they interact with our feature couple. **

**Sammiewolf: Thank you so much. I have many feels now. And this is your first time reviewing so thank you again. **

**Jeremy Shane: Thank you. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, my lovely readers. Okay, so I know that a lot of you want to see more Haylijah but let's just say that our girl is trying to avoid our favorite resident for a little bit longer. There will be a lot of Haylijah in the next chapter. So, I hope you enjoy the friendship and work related antics in this one. On with the show…. **

Chapter 6: 007: License to Kill

Kol hated her. He must; otherwise he would not force Hayley to stand close by holding to bags full of saline that were to be shoved inside a woman's chest. She felt like an idiot as Kol shimmied to some song that she had never heard before. He was kidding with this routine, right? At some point he would remember that he was training a surgeon, not a puppy who would not stop peeing on his Persian rug?

This did not seem likely as Kol set a scalpel down, spun in a circle and then held out his hand for one of the balloons. "Thank you, Doctor. You can hand the other one to one of the nurses and go away. I'll page you if I need your services again."

Hayley felt her head beginning to throb as Kol began to sing about a pink Cadillac. If there was anyone in this hospital that she was most likely to murder, it was Kol. While the other interns had switched rotations, Hayley was stuck with Kol. Kol who wanted her to suffer. But at least she knew that she was not alone in her suffering. It seemed that everyone had become stuck with their least favorite attendee. Caroline was shadowing Klaus. Tyler was stuck with Marcel. Rebekah had found herself being placed with Sage, who she apparently despised. And Josh was with Elijah for some reason. Probably because Kol would not let Hayley go.

"Hey," Caroline called glumly when Hayley entered the cafeteria on her search for somewhere to sit and relax. Caroline had a black hoodie on with the hood pulled over her head. "I think we should go down to the basement and hide from the attendees."

"Yeah, that would great," Tyler mumbled around a yawn as he came to stand beside the unhappy blonde with Rebekah following him.

"I am going to kill Sage! I swear to God I am," Rebekah said as she rubbed her arms. "My back feels like it has been twisted in every direction possible. She's a sadist, I say."

"At least you got to do something," Tyler quipped as Rebekah sneered at him.

"Whatever," Caroline snapped angrily, swirling a swizzle stick in a cup of black coffee. "Mine is ten times worse."

"Not as bad as mine," Josh called as he came to stand with them. "Elijah has made it his mission to make me feel like the biggest idiot that has ever stepped foot in this hospital."

"That's 'cause you killed someone during your first shift," Tyler pointed out.

"Tyler," Caroline snapped. Rolling her eyes, she gave Tyler a kick to the shin and he yelped. "Going. Now," she ordered the group with a wave of her hands.

"And where are all of you going?" Marcel asked the group as they headed toward the exit. He was sitting at a table with Elijah and Klaus. Hayley tried to not make eye contact with Elijah who she was sure was staring at her. Caroline was yanking her hoodie farther over her head. And Josh was staring at his feet.

"We're going to eat somewhere else. There seems to be this brisk wind coming from this general direction. Brrrr," Tyler told Marcel, shivering to emphasis his point and then they headed out of the cafeteria.

"Go, Ty," Rebekah muttered with a smirk. "Now, Marcel will really be gunning for you."

"I can take the heat, babe. Can you?" Tyler inquired with a smug grin directed at Rebekah who glared back at him and scoffed.

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Rebekah gave Tyler a chilly smile. "They are my family for the most part, so I think I can survive."

"Whatever," Tyler retorted and Rebekah nudged Hayley with her elbow.

"Think I'm beginning to get to the little wanker. I bet you fifty bucks that I can make him cry by then end of the shift," Rebekah murmured and Hayley nodded.

"Rebekah, why don't you go find some other group of interns to make suffer with your hostility?" Tyler asked as he plopped down on a gurney in the hospital's basement. "I know that it's because you're all pent up and ready to explode due to your need to get lucky but some guys, can't get past the ice queen thing."

"Leave her alone," Josh barked, surprising everyone in the group.

"Why don't you go kill a patient?" Tyler replied, placing his fingers under his chin and nodding. "Oh, yeah, you already checked that one off you're to do list."

"You're a dick, Tyler," Hayley yelled at Tyler who grinned back at her. She had enough of his crap for one day. Actually, it was going on two days now and they were all cranky and sleep deprived. And if Tyler did not stop she was going to kick his ass.

"I've got one. Want to see it?" Tyler asked, grinning while he started to untie the knot holding up his scrubs.

"I am going to kill you," Hayley shouted, leaping toward Tyler with her hands curled into claws.

"What is going on down here?" Dr. Bennett yelled at them and Hayley turned to find the tiny woman standing behind their group with her hands on her hips. She did not look amused by their behavior. Not at all. "First, I hear claims of insubordination among you," she flicked her gaze at Caroline and Tyler. "Then I hear that one of you killed a man," she shook her head at Josh who looked pale. "And then I don't want to know what in the God's name the rest of you have been up to. But I will say this. It needs to end, right now. You hear me, people. You're going to pull it together, finish your shifts, go home, get some sleep and then drag your sorry behinds back in here to feel that sweet burn because you are doctors. That's what we do. Got it?"

"Yes, M'am," everyone replied.

"Now, go. Be doctors," Dr. Bennett shouted at them and they scurried away back to their attendees.

"Hayley," Elijah called as Hayley headed up to the second floor, hoping to be able to hide in the cafeteria line. She really needed to eat. And to not talk to Elijah. Things happened when they were alone, and, of course, everyone had to continue running up the stairs leaving her with him.

"Hayley, I thought that maybe if you had a moment that we might talk about what happened yesterday. On the roof," Elijah said quietly. His voice was barely above a whisper and he was too close. Way too close. She could feel his breath on her skin and if she leaned upward…. Nope. No way.

"I've got to go," Hayley cried out and ran up the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her. Exiting the first door she saw, she ran into a nurse with an arm full of suture kits.

"Watch it," the nurse snapped at her and Hayley groaned. Looking around, she saw Caroline who was standing in a corner, watching Klaus with a box of Kool-Aid glued to her lips as she squeezed the box dry. Sneaking up behind Caroline, Hayley placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and muffled a laugh when Caroline yelped.

"Ah, there you are, Forbes. Come here. I need you to fill out my post-op notes," Klaus ordered Caroline who nodded without a word of protest.

"Jerk," Hayley muttered and then she felt her throat tighten when Klaus turned to glare at Caroline.

"And for that you will be filling out my resident's post-ops notes as well," Klaus snapped.

"But I didn't," Caroline began when Klaus held up a hand.

"Just do it," Klaus told her with a glare before he strode off to torture another innocent intern. "What the hell are you doing?" Klaus yelled at the young man as Hayley and Caroline fled the area.

"Shit," Rebekah could be heard yelling from a room down the hall and her two co-workers wandered in that direction to find that she was holding her left eye. "She hit me!"

"I told you to hold her still," Sage complained as she knelt atop a table attempting to pull a patient's leg back into its socket. "A little help would be nice," she called when she spotted the interns.

"Why didn't you put her out?" Rebekah moaned as she got to her feet while Caroline set the charts on a tray and moved to help Hayley hold the patient down.

The patient growled at Rebekah. "Because I used to snort cocaine. I don't want drugs. Got it, you pampered little princess! Why don't you go get married and get the hell out of this line of worrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkk. Agh. Are you trying to kill me?" the woman shrieked when Sage climbed off the table.

"The good news is that your leg is back in its socket. The bad news is that you have a broken rib that pierced your left lung and it has to be removed before your lung fills with blood and you can no longer breathe," Sage announced so quickly that Hayley could hardly keep up.

"Who's doing the operation?" Hayley inquired.

"Dr. Bennett," Sage informed her. "If you ask nicely she might allow to observe."

"That would be awesome," Hayley enthused as Rebekah glared at her.

"I almost lost an eye! I'm the one who should get to observe," Rebekah snapped.

The patient began to laugh. "Listen to the princess. You're lucky I can't get up from here. Otherwise I'd make both your eyes match, sweetheart."

"You can have her," Rebekah snorted. "I'm done." Walking out of the room, Rebekah allowed the door to slam behind her.

"She's got a temper, that one," the patient said with a laugh. "What about you, honey, you got a temper, too?" Hayley's eyebrows rose as the woman examined her.

Thinking about her answer, Hayley smiled. "It depends on who you ask."

The patient chuckled. "I like you. You're spunky. The other one is just plain mean. Like this dog I had once. She was so darn mean that she scared everyone with her bark. Even I had a hard time putting up with her. Then one day she just up and dies on me. That was the day that I realized that I was going to miss the stupid dog."

Hayley was left wondering if she was trying to tell her something about not allowing Rebekah's temperament to get the best of them or whether this had nothing to do with the intern. "That's terribly sad," Hayley said sympathetically.

"Well, we all got to go sometime. You know," the woman said with a laugh. "What's your name, honey?"

"Hayley. Hayley Marshall," Hayley told the patient who nodded.

"You look like someone I used to know. But his name wasn't Marshall. Can't remember what it was though." The woman shook her head while she spoke.

"We need to get you prepped for surgery," Sage informed the patient as two nurses came in to move her to another gurney.

"I'll be seeing you, Hayley. And Dr. Bone Cracker, don't lose that sense of humor of yours," the patient called and Sage waved good-bye with a smile before placing her hand to her stomach.

"I am starving. Are you hungry, Marshall?" Sage inquired and Hayley nodded. "What about you, Forbes?"

"I'm always hungry," Caroline replied with a giggle.

"Good, then I don't feel so bad when I'm caught snacking like every five minutes," Sage told them in a conspiratorial tone. The three women walked down the hall and to the bank of elevators. "I guess that's what happens when you're eating for two," Sage was saying when the doors swung open and Rebekah stood staring at her sister-in-law in horror.

"You're _pregnant_?" Rebekah said. Her disdain could not be more evident if she held up a sign. "I would say congratulations but you _understand_ that I _don't_ say things I don't mean."

"Are you _ever_ going to accept that I'm not going _anywhere_, Bekah?" Sage inquired as Rebekah pressed a button and stared at the closing doors.

"No," Rebekah replied with venom in her tone.

"How's the eye?" Sage asked, reaching out and placing her hand on Rebekah's cheek only to have it whacked away.

"Keep your bloody hands _off_ of me," Rebekah snarled as Sage withdrew her hand. When the elevator doors opened, Sage was the first one off.

"I think I'll go find something in the vending machine," Sage said before walking away.

"Good riddance," Rebekah hissed under her breath.

Hayley felt horribly confused as the red headed doctor disappeared around a corner. "Why do you hate her _so_ much?" she asked Rebekah as they entered the cafeteria and went to stand in line.

Rebekah's nose rose in the air as she sneered at the other people in line. "Because she is a hypocritical bitch. That is why. She acts as if she loves my brother _so_ _very_ much but I know why she _really_ married him."

Caroline grabbed a sandwich, a bag of chips and a package of cookies before asking her own question. "Why?" Hayley was a little shocked. Usually the other woman had much more to say.

"Because she knew she would not get a job if she did not marry into a family of doctors in which one headed a hospital. Her grades were a bloody joke. She partied straight through med school. Nearly got Finn drummed out of the program during their first year by causing an incident. And if you think that Josh made a mistake; that is nothing compared to Sage. She killed not just one, but five patients in her first two years. Stupid, stupid, impulsive little twit. And my father covered for her. Can you _believe_ it?" Rebekah finished by grabbing a salad, a pack of chocolate chip cookies and glared at a young nurse who seemed to be listening. "Mind _your_ own bloody business."

"So, you're telling us that your sister-in-law _killed_ that many people and kept her job? I don't believe it," Caroline said as they went outside to eat. "I think that you made that up to make us think that Sage is a bad person because you want us to hate her as much as you do."

"Think what you want," Rebekah said with a shrug as she pulled the cover of her salad off and then poured ranch dressing on top. "She's a screw up, and when you get blamed for one of her careless mistake don't say I didn't warn you."

Feeling sick to her stomach, Hayley stared at the pizza she had purchased. "And she got away with it because of your dad?" Hayley asked, feeling like there was more to the story.

"Yes, because he did not want Finn to be dragged into some kind of scandal. He had no idea that Finn would be stupid enough to marry the tramp," Rebekah spat out, her loathing becoming more obvious with each new syllable. "I just can't wait to see what Nik brings home, or worse yet Kol. I mean if one of my 'good' brothers makes such a colossal mistake I can only imagine what those two would bring home." Sighing heavily, Rebekah smiled at Hayley and Caroline. "At least I don't have to worry about my awful brothers corrupting the two of you. Neither of you would be _so_ stupid as to involve yourselves with them."

Hayley forced a smile as Caroline nodded vigorously. "Yeah, they're both a couple of world class jerks. It's a good thing I already have a boyfriend."

Hayley's eyebrows rose. "You _have_ a boyfriend?" looking at Rebekah, Hayley grinned before leaning across the table. "Okay. Spill. What's he like?"

"His name is Lorenzo. But everyone calls him Enzo. He's a good friend of one of my best friend's, Elena's, boyfriend, Damon. He's a singer and has his own band. Which is why we rarely get to see each other because we're both always so busy. Right now, he's on the road but we talk on the phone a lot when neither of us is working."

"Sounds like a charmer," Rebekah replied with a smirk. "So, _who_ are you going to date when you two break up?"

"We're _not_ breaking up," Caroline protested, opening her bag of chips and shoving one into her mouth.

"Tell her, Hayley," Rebekah goaded Hayley who felt confused. Rebekah's eyebrows moved upward. "Don't tell me that you've never had a long distance relationship before?"

Hayley thought about it. "It depends upon how you define relationship. I once backpacked through Europe and I met some interesting guys. And they send me letters sometimes."

"You did not," Rebekah said with a laugh as she fell back into her seat. "How many countries did you go backpacking through?"

Thinking about it, Hayley smiled. "England, France, Spain, spent a week in Ireland, went to Scotland. But I love Sweden, even if it was cold that season. Not that I felt the weather when I spent most of the time curled up with a guy named, Sven. He gave the best massages. Head to toe," wiggling her eyebrows, Hayley threw her head back and laughed when the other two women shot her looks of envy.

"I would kill for a man who would give me a massage right now," Rebekah groaned as her eyes roamed the cafeteria and landed on someone. Hayley felt curious when Rebekah's eyes narrowed as she continued to stare.

"What are we looking at?" Hayley whispered as she craned her neck to spot Marcel who was buying a cup of coffee and appeared to be flirting with a nurse. "Oh!"

Snapping her head in Hayley's direction, Rebekah's glare made Hayley bite her lower lip. "There is nothing to go 'Oh' about."

"You mean you don't have the hots for Dr. Gerard," Caroline quipped as she looked at Hayley who was nodding in agreement.

"I do not like the man in the slightest. He is _too_ much like Nik. It would be like dating my brother and that makes me want to retch. So, thank you both for that _stunning_ visual. If you will excuse me I have to apply more ice to my eye. The swelling does not seem to be decreasing," Rebekah said as she gathered her trash and strode off while glaring at Marcel's back.

"Yup, she has it _bad_," Caroline said thoughtfully.

What Caroline did not know and God help Hayley she would never know that her fellow intern had already had sex with one of the attendees. Closing her eyes, Hayley felt herself begin to smile as hazy memories of sex with Elijah came swirling into her mind. Yes, what her fellow interns did not know would not hurt them. And this was one secret that Hayley had no intention of revealing any time soon.

**Okay, so there's that chapter. As I said, I hope that you liked it because, like I said, lots of Haylijah will coming up next week at our new time Monday, Oct. 6, The Originals premiere date, which I confused with the date for TVD the last time. **

**Thank you to everyone who has read, faved, followed and/or reviewed. **

**Answers to reviews:**

**Amke00: Thank you. Next chapter will be full of Haylijah. I promise. **

**Guest: I will try to write a longer chapter sometime although it might be posted closer to Christmas. **

**Guest: Thank you. You will see a little more of Rebekah and Marcel in the future of this fic. They're kind of on Hayley's peripheral vision. But I love Rebel so they will come into play before chapter twenty. **

**Aiah: Thank you. Those are the words that I love to see to describe this fic because I know that TO can be rather dark which is one of the reasons that we love it but sometimes it's good to take a little break from all that darkness. Oh, and I love Haylijah, too. They're one of my OTPs because they have awesome chemistry. **

**Sammiewolf: I hope you enjoyed Dr. Bennett's speech that she gave Josh because realistically you're going to make mistakes in a hospital. And Josh just learned a really hard lesson but he will grow from it. I swear there is a ton of Haylijah in the next chapter. And thank you for loving this fic. **

**S: Thank you. I'm thrilled that you're enjoying it so much. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, my lovely readers. This chapter is about Hayley, Elijah and Dr. Bennett for the most part. On with the show…**

Chapter 7: Playing Nice with Your Resident

Feeling her head loll forward as she sat on top of a gurney, Hayley fought sleep. The rotation was almost over. Her first hell filled hours were almost at an end and she was going to be able to observe Dr. Bennett's surgery. It should be a dream, if only she could stay awake. Rebekah and Tyler were playing poker while Caroline sat beside Hayley mindlessly highlighting a text to death. Josh was sleeping on another gurney because none of the attendees would allow him to be any less than five feet from a patient therefore he figured sleeping through his last eight hours was a better idea.

"You have to stay awake unless you want the little wanker here to take your spot," Rebekah called, throwing a card at Hayley which fell on top of her head.

"Would you stop calling me that?" Tyler snapped irritably.

"Would you stop asking me to show you my breasts?" Rebekah snapped back just as irritably.

Tyler grinned as Hayley placed her head on his shoulder. "Do you want me to hold you down while Rebekah gives you a vasectomy without the use of anesthesia?" Hayley inquired with an innocent pout while Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Caroline, do you find me attractive?" Tyler inquired as Caroline flipped a page.

"Sure," Caroline replied absently.

"_See_, I knew there was someone with _good_ sense around here," Tyler said with a chuckle.

"I also think that you're attractiveness runs as deep as your ability to restrain yourself which would be very little," Caroline finished and Rebekah began to laugh until she fell backward on the gurney.

"You know back at my old school women lined up to get a piece of this," Tyler informed them.

Hayley grinned at him before replying, "Then why don't you go back."

"We'll buy you a ticket," Josh added grimly as he sat up on his elbows.

"What are all of you dong down here now?" Dr. Bennett yelled as she made her way toward them.

"Studying," Caroline announced as Tyler and Rebekah hastily collected the cards and hid them under their scrubs.

Dr. Bennett did not seem to believe Caroline as she came to stand before them with her arms folded over her chest. "Uh huh," she replied with a nod. Then she reached for the card that had fallen off of Hayley's head and next to her hip. "Looks like _studying_ to me alright. Marshall, I'm going up to scrub in for that surgery that Sage Mikaelson told me you wanted in on," their resident announced and Hayley sucked in a deep breath. "Forbes, Klaus Mikaelson wants his post-ops. Now! Lockwood and junior Mikaelson, Kol has something he wants you for. Don't ask me what! I don't even want to know. And, Josh, get off your butt and find something to do. We kill people sometimes. It's unfortunate. But you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and go save a life."

The group got up and scrambled out of the basement. Hayley was left behind waiting for Bonnie Bennett who was smirking as she watched cards fall out of Tyler Lockwood's pants. "Yeah, that's what I mean. Studying my ass." Shaking her head, the woman walked slightly ahead of Hayley as the intern tried not to squeal with delight. She was going to observe a surgery. This was a great day after all. "Idiots," Dr. Bennett said with a roll of her eyes.

"FYI, Marshall, try to not piss your pants when I make the first incision," Dr. Bennett said as they walked up to the first floor. Hayley opened her mouth to respond when Dr. Bennett gave her a long look. "It's happened before. Trust me, it isn't pretty and it contaminates the area. So, go to the bathroom before you scrub in."

"Yes, M'am," Hayley replied with a grin which she tried to conceal but nothing seemed to get past her resident.

"Do not speak. Do not move. If I ask you a question do not recite an answer as long as _Titanic_. Got it," Dr. Bennett said as they walked toward the elevators. When the doors swung open a group with a gurney came hurrying toward the open doors and Dr. Bennett pushed Hayley out of the way, holding the doors open. "Another thing, if there's a gurney headed into or out of the elevators, move. Mere seconds could mean the difference between someone's life and death."

"Yes," Hayley replied as they stood and waited for the next elevator. When the doors opened it was blissfully empty. Getting inside, Hayley watched Dr. Bennett press the button for the sixth floor. As the doors moved to close on someone's hand, holding a folder, moved in between them. "Oh, my," Hayley gasped, moving to push the open door button while the doors automatically opened of their own accord.

Seeing the face of Elijah Mikaelson, Hayley felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest. "Hi, Hayley," he said quietly with a wide grin.

"Dr. Mikaelson," Dr. Bennett greeted Elijah whose eyes moved to register her presence as he got onto the elevator and Hayley gulped as he came to stand slightly in front of the two women.

Inclining his head toward Dr. Bennett, Elijah smiled down at her. "Bonnie, how has your day been?" Hayley relaxed a fraction in spite of the tension in the elevator. It had to be the sound of Elijah's calm, reassuring tone that made her feel like everything was right with the world.

"Oh, everything is fine with my day. I'm about to perform surgery on a woman who was riding a dirt bike and punctured her lung with a rib," Dr. Bennett announced. "That means that I get to cut today and that is a good day. Now, if the patient lives through the surgery, then it will be a great day."

"I'm sure that you will do everything in your power to make this into a great day, Dr. Bennett. Perhaps I will be able to observe," Elijah surmised as he pulled out his phone and began to search his schedule.

"That would be an honor, sir," Dr. Bennett replied with a wide grin. "But won't you have a surgery of your own today?"

"No, no. I just finished up. I would be going home but it seems I have nothing to do there," Elijah replied with a wistful laugh and Dr. Bennett laughed with him.

"You deserve a little down time, Dr. Mikaelson," Dr. Bennett informed Elijah who nodded.

Elijah looked at Hayley and then at the doors. "Maybe later." Hayley felt her cheeks begin to burn and it did not help that Dr. Bennett's eyes were now burning a hole in her. 'Please, let her powers of deduction fail for once,' Hayley prayed silently. If the woman found out about Hayley and Elijah, Hayley was sure that she would make her life a living hell.

The doors swung open and Elijah exited before holding the doors open for the two women to pass through them. Hayley refused to make eye contact with him as she walked by him while Dr. Bennett walked down the hall with quick strides. "Coming, Marshall?" she called over her shoulder and Hayley realized that she was still standing in front of the elevator doors.

Moving to follow Dr. Bennett down the hallway, Hayley felt Elijah's hand graze her lower back and she stifled a gasp. 'Damn him,' she thought as she hurried to follow her boss. "I think I forgot something in the locker room," Hayley said quickly as Dr. Bennett turned to look at her.

"Ummm hmmm. Well, go get it. And hurry up, or you're going to miss this surgery," Dr. Bennett called after Hayley as she turned on her heel and hurried back to the elevators. She could swear she heard the woman mutter. "Interns," as she fled.

Hitting the elevator button several times, Hayley waited for the doors to open again and then wanted to scream when she saw Elijah standing inside. He looked amused as she got on and turned her back to him. He slid an arm forward and pushed a button. "It helps if you select a floor," he whispered into her ear and she felt her body tense up as his hand brushed her side.

'I am not doing this. I am not doing this. I am not doing this,' Hayley chanted to herself silently when Elijah hit the emergency stop button and then spun her around. Feeling her heart begin to slam against her rib cage, Hayley grinned when Elijah lifted her up against a wall of the elevator and kissed her deeply. She could live for his kisses alone.

Running her hands through his hair, Hayley gasped as Elijah's hands came to rest on her backside as he pressed closer to her. Oh, God, she wanted more time but she needed to get to that surgery. Oh, but this man was making it horribly difficult as he ran his hands over her body and moved his tongue over hers so slowly that it made her want to rip his clothes off. "Can't. Do. This," she moaned as his lips moved down her neck and his hands slid under her shirt.

"Do you _truly_ want me to stop? There will be many _more_ surgeries to observe," Elijah promised as Hayley stared into his eyes.

"You're going to be _bad_ for my career," she informed him as he pulled on the string holding her scrub pants up.

"But I could be _good_ for you," Elijah replied as his lips traveled down to her collarbone.

"_No_," Hayley said, pushing him away gently. "I'm doing this on _my_ terms." Taking a deep breath, Hayley patted Elijah on the shoulders. "Put me down. We can't do this," she murmured, scooting into a non-Elijah filled corner to pull her hair back up and tie her pants.

Elijah smoothed his hair back before he moved into her corner of the elevator. "Are you saying that you don't want this to happen again, _ever_?" he inquired hoarsely, placing his hand to her cheek and making it more difficult for her to resist him.

"Yes," Hayley told him with as much certainty as she could muster.

"If that is your wish," Elijah said, moving backwards to pull the button and allow them to leave the elevator.

Hayley nodded in reply, peering up at him through her lashes and then moved toward him quickly, pressing her lips to his. Reaching behind Elijah, she pulled the button and waited for the elevator doors to signal that they were about to open. When they did, she pulled away. Feeling her cheeks flush as the doors opened to reveal Caroline and Klaus who both looked curious as Hayley moved out of the elevator quickly and past them. "Brother, what a lovely shade of lip gloss that you're wearing today," Klaus quipped.

Hayley felt herself beginning to turn crimson as Elijah got off the elevator. She didn't even bother to look at Caroline knowing that Caroline would know if she looked her in the eye. Hurrying down the hall, she headed toward the operating room. One of the nurses told her what to do and she hurried through the routine as Elijah entered the room without a word directed at Hayley.

"Did you find it?" Dr. Bennett asked when Hayley entered the room.

"I'm sorry. _What_?" Hayley felt confused.

"_Whatever_ you had to go back to the locker room for," Dr. Bennett replied drily. "Did you get _it_?"

Hayley felt like smacking herself. "Yes, I did," she said. "It's just a good luck charm."

Dr. Bennett's eyes flicked to Hayley and she thought the resident might be smiling by the way that her eyes were twinkling. "I have one of those myself, Marshall, I think all of us have either a good luck charm or some kind of ritual. Whatever gets you through the day."

'Yes,' Hayley thought. 'Whatever gets you through the day.' While the thought ran through her head Elijah entered the room and she felt her life moving before her eyes. She saw herself becoming a resident. Performing her first solo operation. Finishing the program. Entering the hospital on her first day as a resident. Having her own group of interns. Becoming the chief of her own hospital. Then she saw herself entering her home to find that she was _utterly_ and _completely_ _alone_. Maybe she would have a cat.

Moving her head, Hayley found that Elijah was staring back at her. The look in his eyes made her heart squeeze painfully and she forced herself to look at the patient. This was her job, her career and her future. Elijah had already secured his future and she certainly was not going to marry into her position. Not that she believed that Elijah would marry her. They barely knew each other. However, there was still a tiny part of her that made her fear that she had made the wrong choice.

"Shit," Dr. Bennett suddenly said. "She's bleeding out, people," she yelled. "Somebody call and tell them I need more blood. Move!" Hayley watched as a nurse moved to the phone and dialed a number. She watched as Elijah moved forward and added his pair of hands to attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Come on, Sherri, come on. Don't you give up on me," Dr. Bennett yelled as she tried keep the woman alive.

"Bonnie, she's gone," Elijah said, taking a step back and pulling his surgical mask down.

Staring at the patient, Bonnie Bennett cursed under her breath before she jerked her mask down. "Time of death, 5:45 p. m.," she announced in a resigned tone as her shoulders slumped.

"You did everything you could do," Elijah murmured.

Dr. Bennett shook her head. "This is the worst part. This was going to be a great day."

"And you will have another. Tomorrow will be a great day," Elijah reassured her.

"One day you're going to tell me where you get that optimism from," Dr. Bennett replied as she stepped down from the stool she was standing on to reach the patient.

Smiling, Elijah shrugged. "You've met my family. What would be your best guess?" he inquired and Dr. Bennett began to laugh.

"Uh huh. Go home, Dr. Mikaelson and get some rest because _someone_ told me that tomorrow is going to be a great day," Dr. Bennett ordered Elijah. "Doctors' orders."

Grinning, Elijah nodded. "And we all _know_ that all patients strictly subscribe to doctors' orders."

Dr. Bennett peeled her gloves off with a smirk directed at Elijah. "Oh, no, sir, they do not. But if they know what's best for them they put some thought into what they're told."

Nodding, Elijah walked over to the door. "Good evening, Dr. Bennett. Dr. Marshall." He called as if Hayley's name was an afterthought and he never once looked at Hayley before he exited the room.

Hayley followed Dr. Bennett into a scrub room and watched as her resident washed her hands and began to lecture the intern. "That man is a workaholic. I swear I expect to find him here when I walk in the morning and to see him when I leave at night. Never gives up. Such dedication to his career and his patience astounds me. It's enough to make someone begin to forget themselves. To slip up and find that they're doing things that they would not ordinarily do, with people they would not ordinarily do them with. You understand what I'm saying to you, Marshall?"

"Yes, I think I do," Hayley replied slowly as she moved over to another sink to wash up even though she hadn't been part of the procedure.

"I suspect that you would. You're not a stupid woman, Marshall. Don't prove me wrong," Dr. Bennett said as she dried her hands. "I would hate to see someone at the beginning of their career throw it all away." Throwing the towels in the trash, Dr. Bennett waited for Hayley to finish up drying her own.

"Write the post-op notes and then you're free to go home and go to bed. Or whatever it is you plan on doing. You'll be back here soon enough. But be proud of yourself. You survived your first shift." Nodding, Dr. Bennett walked way, Hayley exited the room and walked over to the desk to collect the chart to begin her work.

Rebekah was sitting in a chair with her feet on the desk. "Are you done _yet_?"

"No, I have some notes to fill out. Are _you_ done?" Hayley inquired as Rebekah nodded with an exhausted grin. "Thankfully, yes. One more hour and I might have been using a scalpel on myself."

"Tell about it," Hayley replied as she propped her feet on top of the desk.

"Are you going to Caroline's little party after you're done?" Rebekah inquired with a lazy smile as she crossed her arms behind her head and leaned back.

Hayley groaned and let the chart drop to the desk as she turned to stare at Rebekah. "I forgot the party. Do you think that Caroline will notice if I miss it?"

Rebekah started to laugh when Caroline appeared as if she had been summoned. "Don't forget my party. I expect _both_ of you to be there. You can't leave me alone with Tyler. I do _stupid_ things when I'm drunk."

"Like Tyler?" Rebekah teased with a mock shocked look as Caroline smacked her on the arm.

"No, like _anyone_," Caroline replied with a half-hysterical giggle. "Man, I am tired."

"_We_ all are," Hayley pointed out as she grabbed the post-ops and Caroline headed toward the elevators.

"Just don't have sex with one of my brothers," Rebekah yelled after Caroline who waved back. "Otherwise I can't be your friend." Sitting back down, Rebekah smirked. "Like I would be anyway, you little twit."

"Who's a little twit?" Klaus asked them as he came to glare down at the interns while pulling his jacket on.

"No one you care about. Oh, wait, you don't care about anyone," Rebekah replied with a grin. "And don't go to O'Connell's tonight. I want a brotherless night to kick up my heels."

"You mean so you can drop your knickers and piss off Father with a pregnant intern scandal?" Klaus retorted and Rebekah threw a pen at his head as he walked away laughing.

"Useless wanker," Rebekah muttered as she stared at Hayley. "My grandmother writes faster than you do."

"Really?" Hayley said. "How old is your grandmother?"

"Zero. Because she's dead, dear, now hurry the bloody hell up. I want to get drunk and then fall asleep in a random place," Rebekah complained.

Hayley grinned as she finished up the notes and put them away. "Okay. But since you rushed me, you owe me a drink."

"Yes, so that I may be the sober one and have to drive. No, thank you," Rebekah shook her head with a defiant expression.

"No, we can call a cab," Hayley pointed out.

"And I can crash at you place tonight?" Rebekah asked with a smile.

"My home is your castle," Hayley replied. She had no idea how soon that statement would become true.

**I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Hayley's trying so hard to control her feelings but let's face it, she's already had sex with the guy so how long is it going to be before she jumps him? **

**Thank you to everyone who faved, followed, read and/or reviewed this chapter. And thank you to everyone who has faved or followed me as an author. If it were not for the fans I would not be trying my best to give you quality writing for zero dollars. **

**Magnolia123: Yes, Rebekah definitely likes Marcel and boy does it piss her off. There's nothing like having a crush on someone you think you can't be with. So she and Hayley are in the same boat soon to be joined by Caroline. **

**Guest: I don't really know if Hayley will become pregnant in this fic. It probably just depends on how long it is and if I write a sequel. I'm writing fics loosely based on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer with Caroline Forbes as Buffy and I'm making them into twenty-two chapter stories like how the shows are made up of twenty-two episodes. If I do that then at some point I would say that, yes, Hayley would have a child like Meredith did on **_**Grey's**_**. But that would be a long time from now. I think. And thank you for asking because that gives me a lot to think about. **

**Sammiewolf: Good, because it's not easy to try to write those types of speeches. Bonnie Bennett is a bit hard on the interns in this story but that's because she knows that they have very hard years ahead of them and, as you can see in this chapter, no matter how hard you try you can't keep everyone alive. **

**Braindead: I know. Too much good hair and good looks period. If only they could have a baby. Or someone could be born that looked that good. Damn. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and enjoy the rest of the story. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, my lovely readers. Happy TO Mondays begin tonight at 8pm (at least in the time zone I'm in). And it looks like Hayley and Elijah might be having a harder time in the sophomore season than they are in this fic. So, I hope you enjoy the Haylijah in this chapter which includes flashbacks to their original meeting. On with the show…**

Chapter 8: The Guy at the Bar

Walking into O'Connell's on a Wednesday morning, Hayley entered the bar with Rebekah. Looking around, Hayley spotted Caroline who was sitting at a table with Josh and Tyler. They were all laughing and Hayley smiled as she pulled Rebekah by the elbow toward the small table of interns. "Come on, Rebekah," she cajoled as Rebekah tried to pull away.

"No, I refuse to be seen with those _three_ outside of the hospital grounds. It's bad enough I have to deal with them at work. But I draw the line at hanging out with them." Rebekah snapped while pulling her arm out of Hayley's grasp and trying to walk away.

"Hayley. Rebekah. Over here," Caroline called cheerfully and Rebekah turned to give Hayley a murderous look.

"This is all _your_ fault," Rebekah hissed under her breath as she trudged toward the group.

Hayley smiled as she took a seat across from Tyler who appeared to be having breakfast. "Did you know that they sell food here? And it's _good_," Tyler announced happily as he downed more eggs.

Rebekah eyed the food with a look of distaste. "I am not eating _that_," she told the group.

"Then you'll end up under the table after you start drinking," Hayley reminded Rebekah who rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll have… ummm… pancakes with syrup. I think," Rebekah said, looking thoughtful.

"You're in the south, Rebekah," Hayley said with a laugh. "I'm ordering some grits, biscuits and maybe some fresh fruit if they have it. Caroline, what are you eating?

"Blintzes. I'm eating a sugar rush," Caroline informed Hayley after swallowing a large bite.

"If you keep eating like that you'll end with diabetes before you're thirty," Klaus announced, leaning over Rebekah's seat and making his sister cringe.

"Did I _not_ tell you to _not_ come _here_, Nik," Rebekah hissed with a trademark scowl on her face as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Calm down, love. I didn't come to bother _you_. I brought Marcel with me. He needs to get away from the hospital. I swear that I found him trying to do surgery on a patient who did not have a heart problem but an ingrown toe nail," Klaus informed his sister who peered around him and then glared at Marcel.

"Go away, Nik," Rebekah snapped and Klaus smirked at her.

"As you wish, sister," Klaus retorted, walking by Caroline's side of the table, he grabbed her plate and started away.

"Hey, that's mine," Caroline yelped, jumping to her feet.

Klaus nodded as he picked up her breakfast and took a big bite. "Yes, and it is _delicious_."

Gritting her teeth, Caroline flopped down in her seat as the rest of the group began to laugh. "I think he's kind of in love with you," Josh said. Caroline picked up her fork and pointed it at him.

"I hope you have _good_ insurance because if you say that again you will be headed back to the hospital to have this removed from your tongue," Caroline warned, waving the fork at Josh.

Tyler's hand shot upward. "I call dibs on being able to be part of the surgical team."

"Hayley, will you be so kind as to order for me," Rebekah inquired with a sweet smile that Hayley did not trust.

Shoving her chair backward, Hayley got up and headed toward the bar to order. She looked to her right to find that Elijah was sitting two stools away with a bourbon sitting in front of him. Judging by how much liquid was still in the glass either he hadn't touched it yet or this was not his first drink this morning. "Can I help you?" a young blonde woman questioned Hayley who was startled out of her thoughts.

"Yes, I wanted to order breakfast for myself and my friends." After placing her order, Hayley peered out of the corner of her eye to find that Elijah was now staring at her.

"Good morning, Hayley," Elijah murmured and she felt her body shiver.

"Good morning, Dr. Mikaelson," Hayley replied. She was going to keep their relationship strictly professional from now on. That meant no more first names.

"Dr. Mikaelson, is it?" Elijah replied in a teasing tone. Sliding off his stool, he came to stand beside her. "Since we're not at work I thought that perhaps we could drop the I'm your boss bit. Just for a moment we could just be a guy and girl at a bar. What do you say?"

Hayley bit her lower lip and looked over to find that her fellow interns were too busy arguing with each other to notice her and Elijah. "Okay. But just for a couple of minutes because I need to get back." She inclined her head in the direction of her group.

Elijah looked over and then smiled down at Hayley. "Alright then. It's a deal. Where should we begin… Oh, yes. Hello, I'm Elijah," he said and held out his hand.

Hayley felt her lips moving upward involuntarily. "Hi, I'm Hayley." She shook his hand and he held on longer than was necessary but she didn't protest. "So, what do you do, Elijah?"

"I'm a doctor. I try to _save_ lives. And sometimes I do physicals. All routine business," Elijah murmured and Hayley grinned at him.

"Oh, does that line work on _most_ women?" Hayley inquired, titling her head to the side and letting her hand trail along the bar top.

"Sometimes," Elijah retorted with a wide smile.

"Oh, really?" Hayley muttered with a chuckle.

"It certainly earned a point with a young lady that I met here two nights ago," Elijah whispered into her ear and Hayley sighed as she closed her eyes.

"_Hello," a man said as Hayley took a seat on a bar stool. She had just left a party being hosted by the hospital she was about to go to work at. Now, she just wanted to sit down and have a drink, maybe unwind a bit because she was about to start her career tomorrow. _

"_Hi," Hayley replied with a flirty smile. But not too flirty because she needed to get up in the morning. _

"_Can I buy you a drink?" the man inquired with a smile. And Hayley examined him for a moment. _

"_I don't know. You could turn out to be a serial killer," Hayley told him, watching him intensely as he grinned back at her. _

"_Actually I'm a doctor," the man told her and she sighed inwardly. Of course he was. She couldn't come into a bar across the street from the hospital and meet a nice guy who was not a doctor who would probably turn out to be her boss. _

_Deciding that it was okay to continue flirting with the good looking doctor until she had to leave early, Hayley smirked at the man. "That doesn't mean that you couldn't still turn out to be a serial killer." _

_The man chuckled. "That's very true," holding out his hand, he smiled at her. "I'm Elijah." _

"_Hayley," Hayley told him, taking his hand and shaking it. "And you can go ahead and buy me that drink now." _

_Elijah's smile widened as he ordered her a drink. Then one drink became two, three, four and five. Then they were leaving the bar and going back to her house. Somehow the bedroom seemed like a great distance and they could not seem to get that far. So the couch seemed close enough when Hayley's dress pooled at her feet and Elijah's shirt and pants joined it. _

_Lying down on the couch, Hayley sighed as Elijah's mouth traveled over her body and his hands trailed behind them, exploring her and making her very happy she had left the party early. _

"_I have to get up in the morning," Hayley had warned Elijah when his face appeared above hers and her legs tightened around his waist. _

"_So do I," Elijah had told her with a warm smile as he pulled her closer and she forgot about med school and her internship and the whole freakin' world as they fell onto the floor. _

"Your order is up," the blonde woman, Cami her name tag read, announced to Hayley who moved away from Elijah.

"Thank you," Hayley said to Cami and collected the tray of food. "Back to reality," Hayley told Elijah before walking away from him. Stopping at her table, she laid the food down. "Rebekah, here's you pancakes." She told the anger looking intern who was whirling a knife between two fingers and staring daggers at Klaus and Marcel who was flirting with yet another woman. "And more junk for Caroline."

Caroline grinned. "I love you," she said with a giggle.

"I would love to see that on film," Tyler said and Caroline gave him a disgusted look.

"Look at those two. They make one want to be ill. He's as bad as Kol with all the little trollops," Rebekah snarled as she pointed her knife at Marcel. Hayley reached over and gingerly extracted the knife from her friend's grip. "Why don't they just get a room?"

"Klaus and Marcel?" Caroline inquired.

Rebekah's teeth grated together as she turned to give Caroline a death glare. "No, you twit. Marcel and the bloody _nurse_."

"How do you know she's a nurse?" Hayley inquired.

"She is," Tyler said dreamily. "The one thing I admire about Marcel is that he has game. But then so does Kol. I wonder which one I should ask to be my mentor?"

"It is _always_ good to mentor a child, isn't it?" Rebekah replied snidely.

Hayley rolled her eyes with a smile as her gaze moved back to the bar to find that Elijah was still staring at her. Why couldn't he just let it go and allow her to go about her life? Why? "Eating more sugar, again?" Klaus called as he strode over and yanked a seat up next to Caroline who narrowed her eyes at him.

"Go away, Klaus, we're not at the hospital and you can't bully me _here_," Caroline snapped.

"You're right, love, we're not at the hospital," Klaus replied slowly and Hayley's jaw dropped. He was totally coming on to Caroline. That was it. She was done with being little Miss Goody Goody. "You know I would love to stay and see how all of this plays itself out but I need to get home and get some sleep," Hayley announced with a wide yawn.

"But you were going to let me crash at you place," Rebekah protested.

"You can crash at _mine_," Tyler told her and Rebekah glared at him.

"I would rather sleep in a dumpster," the Mikaelson sister snapped.

"You can stay at my place," Josh told her and Rebekah relaxed.

Caroline looked around at the others. "How about we have the party tonight?" she asked and then turned to glare at Klaus. "Get your hand off my thigh or I will claim sexual harassment so fast your head will spin, you pig."

"Bye," Hayley called out quickly and then she looked over to where Elijah was sitting, but he was no longer there.

Sighing, Hayley walked out of the bar, headed out to cross the street and collect her car from the hospital's parking lot. Getting in, she buckled up before driving home. The drive was slow and tedious and she really wanted to go to sleep more than anything. Pulling into her driveway, she noticed that there was an unfamiliar car already parked. Getting out, she headed toward the front door wondering who the other car belonged to when she saw Elijah sitting on the bench just outside her house. "Hayley," he greeted her.

"Elijah," she replied with a nod.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I am your boss and if I have made you feel in any way that I have been overstepping then I deeply regret my actions. Truly I should not be acting as I have been with you. It's not right and I respect your decision to focus on your career." Elijah told her quickly and then stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets.

"Okay," Hayley said quietly feeling like the boy that she had a crush on had just told her that he didn't like her too. It was silly and childish. All of her romantic fantasies were going up in smoke and all she was left with was the burn of adulthood. "I understand."

"Right. Then I will see at work," Elijah murmured, moving so that she could unlock her door.

"Yeah, I guess you will," Hayley replied as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Have a nice day, Elijah."

"You, too, Hayley," Elijah called as he began to walk away.

Sighing, Hayley started to step inside when she stopped herself. "Elijah," she called and he stopped, turning to stare at her. "Do you want a cup of coffee?"

Smiling, Elijah walked back toward the house and followed Hayley inside. They entered Hayley's kitchen. Looking through the cabinets, she found a canister of coffee. "Do you like milk or sugar with it? Or something else. I think I have some hot chocolate packets around here somewhere," she told him, looking for the box of chocolate, feeling annoyed when she couldn't find it.

"Black is fine. Thank you," Elijah called. "You know it's funny that this is the first time that I've been in your kitchen."

"Well, since we spent _most_ of the time in the living room," Hayley retorted, walking toward the sink and filled the pot with cold water. Elijah came around the breakfast bar, coming to lean against the counter he caused Hayley to be forced to walk by him on her way to fill the machine. Filling it, Hayley looked around for the filters. Elijah found them and handed them to her. His fingers grazed hers and she sucked in a deep breath.

"Yes, it was a _nice_ living room if I recall," Elijah said quietly with a smile and Hayley grinned. "With a rather _exceptional_ view."

"You should see the bedroom," Hayley quipped and then blushed when Elijah's eyes met hers. Shoving the full filter into the machine, she hit the on button and stared at the thing like her life depended on it.

"Hayley," Elijah whispered and she felt his body moving closer to hers rather than saw it. He did not continue speaking as he came to stand behind her and she noticed his hands move to either side of the counter so she could not escape.

"I need to get cups," Hayley shouted and then felt like an idiot when Elijah moved away from her. Walking toward the cabinet with the aforementioned items, she opened the door and reached inside. Pulling out two cups, she started to close the door when she felt Elijah's hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she found that he was standing right behind her.

"Hayley," Elijah began again, searching her eyes and she groaned when the coffee maker began to hiss, letting her know that it was done. Moving away from Elijah, she pressed the off button and pulled the cord. Turning back to look at Elijah, Hayley could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

"I should leave," Elijah announced abruptly.

"Yes, you should," Hayley told him with a quick nod.

"Bye," Elijah said awkwardly.

"Bye," Hayley replied and then they stood, neither moving a muscle as they stared at each other.

"I guess that means that I should leave the house," Elijah added and moved in that direction.

"Probably," Hayley replied as she watched him go. When she heard the door close, she felt her heart slow down to a regular rhythm. Rolling her eyes, she sighed and walked over to the two coffee cups. Pulling open the door she replaced the second cup before closing the door. So much for sleep. After that there was no way that she was going to get any rest. Moving to the coffee maker, she pulled the pot out and poured herself a cup.

With her back to the entryway of the kitchen, she blew on the steaming cup. Setting it down, Hayley turned to find that Elijah had returned. Before she could breathe a word, he strode over to her and kissed her. Wrapping his arms around her neck tightly, she did not protest when he yanked her shirt over her head. Instead, she yanked his belt off and unbuttoned his pants.

In mere minutes they were on the floor of her kitchen doing what she had wanted to do ever since she met him again. Sober sex was just as fun she found out and even though the kitchen floor was a little more uncomfortable than the couch or the living room floor with its nice think rug this was still better than any fantasy.

"We can't keep doing this," Hayley moaned as Elijah pressed his lips to her thigh and then smiled up at her.

"One last time," Elijah implored her and she smiled back at him before pulling his face up to her.

"One last time," she murmured as she rolled on top of him. "For old time's sake. Like two friends coming together after a long, long time."

"Yes, I think that we could make this last a long, long time," Elijah whispered as his hands moved to her legs and pulled her closer and she felt all logic leaving the area. "A very long time."

"So long that they need a new definition for long," Hayley moaned as Elijah rolled on top of her and she smiled up at him happily.

Hours later Hayley heard the doorbell ring and wondered who in the God's name was at the door. Grabbing her clothes off the floor, she looked down at Elijah with a sense of satisfaction before she yanked her shirt and pants on. Going to answer the door she found Caroline who looked upset. "Caroline, what are you doing here?" she asked, running her hands through her hair and wondering how the other intern had gotten ahold of her address.

"I did a bad, _bad_ thing," Caroline whispered and then hiccupped and Hayley noticed the bottle of bourbon clutched in her fellow intern's hands.

"What did you _do_?" Hayley demanded, her tone sharper than she had meant for it to be but Elijah might wake up at any second and then everyone would know.

"I kissed Klaus," Caroline said and then stared at the ground.

'Whoa. Really?" Hayley was confused.

"Actually Klaus kissed _me_. He asked me to play a game of darts with him and I am awesome at the game but he beat me. Then he asked if I needed a ride home because I had been drinking. When we got to my house, he said that since he won the game that he should get a prize. And I was like 'What prize?' because I thought he wanted me to sleep with him but then he was like 'A kiss.' So he kissed me and then I really kissed him back. I kissed one of our bosses. I am a _terrible_ person and everyone is going to find out and then they'll _hate_ me," Caroline groaned. "Can I come in?"

Hayley felt like she was going to scream when Caroline kept staring at her with that drunken puppy look. "Okay," she relented. Letting the other intern inside, she made an excuse and hurried into the kitchen. Elijah was not there and the kitchen door was open.

Turning around, Hayley found Caroline. "Do I smell coffee?"

"Yes, you do," Hayley replied perkily. 'And thank you, Elijah, for getting out of here when you did,' she thought with a smile. Her secret was safe for another week.

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the premiere as much as I am, even our babies are hitting a rough path. Agh, all my OTPs are being separated. What's a fan to do? Right, write more fics about them. **

**Guest: Thank you. They're really fun to write about. I actually love writing about all the budding friend and frenemy ships in this fic and developing them. **

**Sammiewolf: As every time, I thank you very much for your support. I would say that it didn't take Hayley too long to break in her restraint. Bonnie is like an aunt figure trying to watch over all these kids who are wielding scalpels and doing things that she doesn't approve of. It's not easy for her to try to rein them in. **

**Magnolia: Thank you. **

**Guest: Thank you. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello, my lovely readers. This chapter will open with some bonding between Hayley and Caroline and then more interns and some of our favorite attendees will be showing up. Best of all you'll be seeing more Haylijah having fun. On with the show…**

Chapter 9: Relax!

An hour after Elijah had made his grand exit, Hayley was sitting on her couch clutching the bottle of vodka to her chest and giggling. As it turned out Caroline was actually quite funny. Not the type of person that Hayley would have hung out with before her internship but the girl wasn't altogether unbearable.

"So, this one time Enzo surprised me with a flight to London and I was so tired when we got off he thought it would be funny to convince me that this woman in the airport was the Queen of England. And he's like we should get a picture of her but that he once played at one of Harry's parties and might have thrown up on the Queen's shoes so I should approach her," Caroline started to shake her head before waving for Hayley to give her the bottle. Taking a long sip, she handed it back. "Okay, so I take out my phone and I'm so tired but I remember that I'm supposed to be all dignified and stuff so I walk up to the woman and I curtsey and I'm like 'Queen Elizabeth, it is such an honor to meet you in your lovely country. I would like to request your permission for the honor of being able to take a picture with you."

"The woman was so confused but she smiled and told me that that would be lovely. So, I'm like so happy and I wave for Enzo to come over and we stand on either side of the woman. I went ahead and took a picture and posted it to my Facebook page because I just took a picture with the Queen of freakin' England. So, that was great and Enzo takes me out of the airport and we go to the hotel room and I take a nap. Then we go out for coffee. Well, I started getting all of these phone calls and I check and see that my friend, Elena, is calling and she's asking me why I think that I have picture of myself with the Queen of England. Did I drunk post? Again. So, then I check my Facebook status and find out that people from England think it's hilarious that I took a photo with a woman who turned out to be from Sweden thinking she was the Queen."

Caroline fell back on the couch with a heavy sigh and Hayley couldn't stop laughing. "That is a keeper you have on your hands."

Shrugging, Caroline took another swig. "Yeah. How about you? Do you have any keepers that you're hiding from the rest of us?" Wriggling her eyebrows, Caroline started to look around the room. "Where is he? Is he under the couch?" Peering under the coach, Caroline nearly fell over.

"Nope. There's nobody," Hayley told her fellow intern with a shake of her head. There was no way in hell she was going to fess up to her affair with Elijah. Was it an affair? They had only been together twice. Well, it was a lot more than twice but two different days. Oh, it was so confusing and Hayley had enough in her life that was confusing. She needed something that would be not complicated.

"You mean that you're _not_ dating someone?" Caroline gasped, her jaw hanging open. "That is _not_ right. I am going to make it my _mission_ tonight to find you somebody."

Hayley felt her eyes widening at the thought of being set up by Caroline. It would be horrifying enough if it were Rebekah. She would probably pick the head of a motorcycle gang, but Caroline, Little Miss Perky Pants? No way was that going to happen. "You know, Caroline, I really need to get some sleep," Hayley said with a wide yawn as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Yeah, me, too. Is it okay if I crash here for awhile? I'm kinda drunk," Caroline pointed out by shaking the nearly empty bottle.

"Sure," Hayley replied. "You can use one of the extra bedrooms." Getting up, Hayley lead Caroline up the stairs and had to stop as the blonde began to look around and let out another gasp. 'Really? Can the theatrics,' Hayley thought. She might be in a glowy post-sex mood but she was also _really_, _really_ tired and it was making her pissed off.

"How _many_ bedrooms do you have?" Caroline inquired, looking into two different empty bedrooms?

"_Four_," Hayley replied with a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Really? You know that you could rent out the extra ones and make some money?" Caroline pointed out and Hayley frowned. She hadn't thought about that yet.

"Maybe," Hayley murmured as she opened the door to her room and stepped inside. "I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Okay," Caroline responded brightly. Waving her fingers, she entered one of the guest bedrooms.

Closing her door, Hayley laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Unforeseen complications of involving yourself with your boss's boss. Check. Being stuck with a bunch of fellow interns who wanted to socialize. Check. Having your boss possibly knowing that you're involved with her boss. Check. And let's not forget having one of your fellow interns being the sister of the boss that you're sleeping with. Check. Rolling over onto her side, Hayley hit her alarm clock for five in the evening and went to sleep.

After what felt like only five minutes, Hayley woke up to the sounds of something. Something that she could swear was the sound of a vacuum cleaner. Looking at the alarm, she noticed that she had all of fifteen minutes left before the blasted thing went off, Hayley pulled her pillow over her head before she gave up and sat up. Forcing herself to head downstairs, Hayley was confronted with a sight that made her want to go back to bed.

In her living were not only her fellow interns, but four male attendees. "_What_ is going on down here?" Hayley questioned the group. Elijah looked up and Hayley felt her stomach tighten.

"Oh, ummm… You were sleeping so peacefully that I thought I would start the party here," Caroline answered for the guests as she unplugged the vacuum. "And I guess Klaus invited himself after stealing Rebekah's phone." Holding her hand to side of her face like the attendees couldn't hear her, she added, "and that's why _they're_ here," nodding at the attendees.

"Nice house, Marshall," Kol said as he held up a glass. "_Wherever_ did you find the money for it?"

"Kol, you are a _guest_. I think you should hold your tongue," Elijah said quietly and Kol's gaze wavered in his brother's direction.

"I _don't_ believe anyone asked you opinion, Lijah," Kol snapped but he slumped back into his seat without another remark.

"Why were you vacuuming?" Hayley asked Caroline, trying to avoid Elijah who was staring at her.

"Because like I said, you seemed to be exhausted and I thought it would be helpful. I also cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom," Caroline added.

"I've been looking for a maid," Kol began when Klaus kicked him. "Ow. What was that for?" Kol grunted while rubbing his leg as Klaus took a sip from his drink.

"I'd like to see you in a maid's uniform," Tyler said and Caroline looked like she was about to explode.

"Hayley, where is your bathroom?" Elijah asked and Hayley's attention was drawn back to him.

"Upstairs. I can show you," Hayley told him as the others argued and they walked up the stairs. Walking into the hallway, Hayley was about to direct Elijah toward the bathroom when he took her hand and pulled her down the hall.

"Is that _your_ room?" Elijah asked in a whisper, pointing ahead of him. Hayley nodded wordlessly and he pulled her by the hand toward it. Closing the door, he lowered his hands to her thighs and lifted her off her feet.

"Everyone is right downstairs," Hayley whispered to Elijah who was unbuttoning her pants.

"Then we will have to be very quiet," Elijah whispered back and Hayley grinned before she yanked his shirt off. They were naked quickly enough and Hayley had to admit that she was enjoying her new secret maybe a little too much.

After what felt like far too little time, Elijah was getting up and dressing while Hayley was smiling as she watched him. "I'll see you downstairs," he informed her before leaning down, giving her a long kiss on the lips and then he left to make his way downstairs.

Grinning, Hayley fell back on the bed. Her happiness was not long lived when there was a knock on the door. "Hayley, may I come in?" Rebekah called and she sounded a little too sober for Hayley's taste. Damn. Had she been caught already?

"Just a minute," Hayley called. "I'm… I'm changing."

"Alright," Rebekah called. "But I think you should let me come in." Hayley groaned before she went over to the door and opened it just enough to poke her head through. "This _isn't_ a good time."

"_Why_?" Rebekah asked with smirk. "Do you have someone in there with you? Because as far as I know _everyone_ is downstairs. Unless whoever it is climbed in your window. Or do you need some _alone_ time?" Continuing to smirk at Hayley, Rebekah seemed satisfied when Hayley let her into the bedroom. Closing the door behind her, Rebekah walked in and flopped down on the bed. "What is that _smell_? I swear I smell someone's cologne." Rebekah began to sniff the air and Hayley felt like screaming.

"It's this new perfume. A friend bought it for me," Hayley replied quickly.

"A friend bought you _men's_ cologne?" Rebekah expression's said she did not believe Hayley. "Fine. You can keep your secret to yourself."

"_Why_ are you up here?" Hayley questioned Rebekah as she pulled out a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt.

Rebekah leaned back against the bedframe and glared at the opposite wall. "I'm trying to get away from my family and our fellow newbies. They're all driving me nuts. You know that I live with Nik and I need to get a new place. He's driving me nuts. I think I might kill him in his sleep one night. He's almost as bad as Kol with his incessant need to bring whoever strikes his fancy home. And the _sounds_. Oh, God. And then he'll get drunk and bring Marcel over. And that is never good because they'll be up half the bloody night going on and on about surgeries and women and cars. It's a _nightmare_."

"Yeah, Caroline was telling me that I should rent some of my rooms," Hayley replied as she grabbed a pair of clean underwear and a bra before collecting the rest of the clothing and heading out of the room toward her bathroom.

Reaching for the doorknob of the bathroom door, Hayley was startled when Marcel came out. "Hi there, Hayley. Didn't mean to scare you," looking past Hayley, his eyes landed on Rebekah. "Bekah."

"Marcel," Rebekah snapped icily. "Kindly move so that Hayley may enter her bathroom," she ordered him with an even icier glare. Marcel stepped aside and walked out of the bathroom. Afterwards, she put the lid of the toilet down and placed her clothes down on the top of it. Turning, she was about to close the door when she found that Rebekah had already done so. "The nerve of that man," Rebekah growled as she slumped down in front of the door.

Hayley had no idea what to say as she turned to get into the shower and drew the curtain before throwing the sheet she had wrapped herself in on the floor. "Do you like Marcel?" she called as she turned on the water to a steamy hot temperature.

"No," Rebekah said flatly as someone began to knock on the door.

"I need to pee," Kol announced.

"Then find a bush," Rebekah snapped, slapping the door with her open palm.

"Bitch," Kol snapped and Hayley found herself grinning as she rinsed her hair. She needed to make this a quick shower before the Mikaelsons tore her house apart.

"Hayley, may I come in," Elijah called, tapping on the door and Hayley bit her bottom lip. She could not believe that Elijah was up here again. And why was Rebekah not answering her brother like she had with Kol. Then she heard the door opening and Hayley's head shot out of the shower to stare at Elijah, feeling horrified.

"Rebekah," Elijah said smoothly. "I did not know that you were in here."

Rebekah smiled up at her brother. "_Now_ you do. What did you want from Hayley? She's in the shower and does _not_ want to be bothered."

Elijah looked at Hayley who ducked her head back under the warm spray of water. "I just came up to tell her that we're moving the party to O'Connell's in case she was to come down and find that everyone had left."

"Oh, _really_. They're leaving now? And _whose_ idea was that?" Rebekah asked.

"Niklaus wanted to leave since Kol kept whining that he needed to use the facilities and that the… _lady_ upstairs was refusing him entrance," Elijah replied slowly.

"That wanker. Nik is my ride. Hayley, I _have_ to go down and clear this up," Rebekah called and Hayley nodded although Rebekah could not see her. Then Hayley heard the door close and the lock click. She felt relieved to be alone again.

Sighing, Hayley continued to wash the shampoo out of her hair until the shower curtain moved and she gasped when Elijah stepped inside. "We're going to get caught," she told him.

"By whom. Everyone is gone and I was not quite finished with you," Elijah retorted with a smile as he leaned down and kissed her. This man was going to cause her so _very_, _very_ many problems Hayley thought as she put her arms around his neck and allowed him to press her to the wall of the shower. Oh, why could life not be so complicated?

Feeling Elijah's hands running over her bare back, Hayley wondered what would happen when everyone found out about the two of them. It was not like they could carry on like this for long before someone picked up on the fact that there was something going on, especially when Rebekah was noticing things like cologne. And then there were Klaus and Kol. They were Elijah's brothers. They would sense that there was something happening.

"What are you thinking about so intensely," Elijah inquired in a teasing tone as he looked into Hayley's eyes and she felt like her world was a _very_ happy place at that moment.

"How happy I am that I met you," Hayley told him sincerely. She thought they could have the awkward talk about what to do when everyone found out about them later. Right now was the time for happy, sexy moments as she moved against him and enjoyed the feeling of their bodies together. "I could get used to this," she murmured as she nuzzled the crook of his neck.

"I could as well. Now, tell me how many rooms have we been in?" Elijah inquired.

"Four, that I know of," Hayley told him with a wide grin.

"And how many more do you have?" Elijah asked her, pressing his lips to her palm.

"Ummm…" Hayley tried to think but Elijah was not making it easy for her to concentrate.

"We can find out some other time. I can tell you that there are many rooms in the hospital. The locker room. The on-call room. Many empty rooms for the patients from time to time. I don't think we've tried out the front or back of my car and it has quite a bit of space," Elijah listed and Hayley felt excited at the many possibilities. "Maybe we should skip the party," Elijah suggested.

"Or maybe we should go to the party anyway and after we make our appearance then we can leave and check out that car of yours," Hayley whispered into Elijah's ear and he shivered. She loved that she had that effect on him.

A few minutes later, they were getting out of the shower. After Elijah insisted on towel drying her, Hayley dressed and threw her clothes on. She grabbed her blow dryer and made quick work of her hair as Elijah pulled his clothes on. "I will see you at the party," Hayley murmured, pulling Elijah to her and kissing him tenderly before she hurried out of the bathroom. "And hurry up because I have to lock up," she called over her shoulder.

Elijah chuckled as he came to stand in Hayley's bedroom while she pulled on a pair of sneakers. "You were saying?" he called and she shook her head at him with a grin. She really needed to stop smiling like this or people would be on to her for sure. 'Think of Dr. Bennett,' she told herself and instantly felt sober.

"Okay. Time to go," Hayley informed Elijah, waving her hands and ushering him out the door and down the hall.

"I will see you later then," Elijah called when they exited the house and Hayley waved without looking at him. Locking the door, she hurried to her car and drove as cautiously as she could. Entering O'Connell's, she found her little group. Rebekah was deliriously drunk. The reason that Hayley could tell was that Rebekah was smiling and dancing with Marcel. "Now, that's a change," she said under her breath.

"Hayley," Caroline called excitedly. "I have someone I want you to meet." She called waving for Hayley to join them and Hayley found that there was a young man sitting beside Caroline. He was kind of cute, if you liked the scruffy look which the old Hayley did. A _lot_. "Hayley Marshall, this is Jackson Dupree. Jackson, this is my _veeerrrrrrrry_ single friend that I was telling you about. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to get another drink. Tyler and Josh, come with me."

Tyler and Josh got up and left with Caroline. Looking after the group that had just abandoned him, Jackson's eyebrows rose as a lazy grin appeared and his eyes began to twinkle. "She's about as subtle as a brick," he said with a chuckle.

"Tell me about it," Hayley replied with a laugh as Jackson got up and pulled out a chair for her. "Thank you. I haven't met many gentlemen lately," she told him and his eyebrows knitted together.

"I guess that you've been hanging with the _wrong_ crowd then," Jackson informed her.

"I guess I have. But you don't have much choice when you're an intern," Hayley replied.

"So am I," Jackson responded and Hayley's eyebrows lifted. "It's too bad I didn't end up with the same resident, otherwise we might have met earlier and that would have been my lucky day."

Hayley felt herself grinning and then she had to remind herself that she was with someone. Kind of. Maybe. They hadn't really had the "what are we to each other discussion yet." So technically she had a right to flirt with other guys. "Maybe," she told Jackson as her gaze swept the bar and she saw Caroline giving her two thumbs up with a happy smile. Then she noticed Elijah who had just come in and he was staring at her and Jackson. Looking away for a moment because she could swear that Elijah looked angry, she looked up again to find that he gone.

"Would you like me to buy you a drink?" Jackson asked and Hayley slumped back in her seat.

"Sure," she replied absently. It looked like it was going to be a long night and she no longer had any other plans to look forward to.

**Okay, so now there are some jealousy issues. It's always fun to have a well-meaning friend who has no idea what in the hell they're doing.**

**Answers to reviews: Guest: Thank you. **

**Sammiewolf: I think I can. But there have been times when I didn't get reviews for some reason and then readers pmed me to let me know that something went wrong. Or did I forget to reply to your last review because I tend to forget things sometimes.**

**I am happy to hear that. **** I will be developing Klaroline slowly in the background since they're one of my favs and I just can't quite let them go quietly into the night. Of course. **** I will try. ;)**

**Magnolia123: The premiere was epic and I don't use that word too often but I was so happy to see how well everyone did. You're welcome for the Haylijah. **

**Guest: You're welcome. She might at some point way later in the story because there's a lot of things that are going to happen that will turn their lives up and down. **

**Guest: I know that that part was hard to watch. We just have to keep shipping and wait to see what the writers have in store for us because I think right now Hayley's grieving and grief can make you push people that you really care about away because you don't want to feel that pain again. **

**ResidentEvilChris: My intention is not to convert people, but if I did I wouldn't complain… There was quite a bit of building before they finally jumped each other and then they just keep doing exactly that. But there will be more problems as you can see at the end of the chapter. **

**Guest: Thank you. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello, my lovely readers. I finally found out what Josh's last name is now Dr. Bennett will calling him Rosza a lot. And in this chapter Hayley will be on Marcel's shift so there will be some Rebel and Haybekah in here but never fear, there will also be some hot Haylijah moments as well. On with the show…**

Chapter 10: Round Two

"Welcome back, people," Dr. Bennett called. "Hope you enjoyed your little vacation. Lockwood, you're on SCUT."

"Damn it," Tyler muttered.

"Forbes, you're with Klaus Mikaelson," Dr. Bennett continued as if Tyler hadn't spoken. Caroline rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut. "Rosza, you're with Elijah Mikaelson. Marshall and female Mikaelson, you're both with Marcel today." Staring at the interns, Dr. Bennett looked irritated. "Go," she shouted and they hurried away.

"Why am I stuck with Klaus? _Again_!" Caroline complained.

"At least you're not stuck in the pit," Tyler replied and she nodded.

"Let's go," Rebekah snapped at Hayley who felt confused.

"What did I _do_?" Hayley snapped back at Rebekah as she pulled her hair into a ponytail. She was still tired and somewhat hung over from Caroline's party and Elijah had not stopped by so that they could talk. She also did not have his number or address so that she could contact him.

"Nothing. I simply do not want to be on Marcel's service," Rebekah hissed before shoving the door to the stairway open.

"Oh. _Why_? Because you danced with him?" Hayley teased and Rebekah glared at her.

"_No_. Because there is no way that he will allow me to do anything but stand there and watch as he holds something _so_ beautiful between his hands and collects _all_ of the glory," Rebekah said as she narrowed her eyes. "He is a _wonderful_ surgeon and I love to watch him in action but it is _unbearable_ to not be able to _actually_ do any of the cutting myself. And he _knows_ it."

"We'll get to cut soon. Don't worry about it," Hayley replied, trying to sooth Rebekah before the blonde blew up at their boss once they found him. Exiting on the fourth floor, they found Marcel talking to a nurse and Hayley had to grab Rebekah before the blonde could get to him. "_Rebekah_," Hayley whispered. "Breathe."

Rebekah's body relaxed, slowly. "I'm fine. You can remove your hand _now_."

Letting go of Rebekah, Hayley took a step back and watched Rebekah approach Marcel. She coughed loudly to gain his attention and he turned to greet her with a wide grin. "Bekah, ready to start your round?"

"Of course, Dr. Gerard," Rebekah replied with a smile that if it got any wider she would need surgery to fix her jaw muscles. "Where shall we start?"

Marcel placed his fingers to his chin and examined Rebekah's expression before looking at Hayley with eyes that were glittering with barely contained amusement. "Sure. I think we'll start with my latest case. Come with me, ladies." Turning his back, Marcel led them down the hall and into a room where a woman who looked to be about thirty was laying on her back.

"This is Jenny LaGuine. She's thirty-two years old. Last month she came to our facility presenting us with an acute case of heartburn. As it turned out Jenny's heartburn was not heartburn as it was previously diagnosed but a minor heart attack. Since that minor heart attack Jenny has been feeling symptoms of another attack coming on. In other words this young lady is a ticking time bomb. To add to the problems of this lovely young lady she also has a small tear on her left ventricle. Now, we have two options here. Who would like to tell me what they are?"

Rebekah raised her hand before Hayley could think to raise her own. For a moment Hayley felt a spike of bitter jealousy course though her. Sighing inwardly, she waited for Marcel to call on Rebekah. "Dr. Mikaelson," Marcel called with a grin.

"You can either wait for Miss LaGuine to have her next attack which could widen the tear and increase the possibility that she will most certainly die. Or you could opt for performing surgery to repair the tear with the possibility that she could have another attack during the operation. And, again, that option could be fatal," Rebekah stated mechanically and Marcel's expression turned serious.

"Thank you, Dr. Mikaelson, for doing your best to scare the patient," Marcel joked, shooting Miss LaGuine a smile before raising his eyebrows at Rebekah who began to stare at the chart in her hands.

"Jenny, would you like to tell the interns which option you have chosen?" Marcel inquired quietly.

"I'm choosing to have the operation," Jenny told them with a nod and a meek smile. "I trust Dr. Gerard with my life and I think that he'll do his best to save me so that I can see my daughter at her first recital."

"You have a child?" Hayley asked and Jenny nodded.

"Yes, she's eight and her first piano recital is coming up in a week. I promised her that I would be out of here to see her perform," the patient explained and Hayley smiled. She wished that her mother had been able to attend any of her, well, anything.

"I'll be back to check up on you," Marcel told Jenny with a wink as he moved to leave the room. Hayley and Rebekah followed him out.

"You know, Bekah, you really need to work on that bedside manner of yours. You're likely to frighten the patients," Marcel informed Rebekah who narrowed her eyes to reply when Marcel noticed someone behind her. "Hey, Dupree, who's shift are you on?" he called and Hayley turned to see Jackson and her throat closed up slightly.

"Dr. Gerard," Jackson replied with an easy smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Whose shift are you on?" Marcel asked Jackson.

"Elijah Mikaelson's. Why?" Jackson asked.

"_Good_. Tell him that I'm stealing you for the day. I want someone who can teach Miss Mikaelson some manners," Marcel informed Jackson who looked at Rebekah skeptically.

"I'll try my best, sir," Jackson said with a wink directed at Rebekah who sneered at him.

Without trying to hide her disdain, Rebekah turned her head and coughed, "Kiss ass," loudly enough for everyone else to hear.

"Real mature, Bekah," Marcel muttered as they headed down the hall and Hayley's heart began to beat rapidly when she saw Elijah coming down the other side of the hallway with a chart in front of his face.

"Hey, Hayley, I was wondering if you'll be busy later?" Jackson was saying as he fell into step beside Hayley who was focused on Elijah.

"Uh huh," Hayley replied without paying any attention to Jackson.

"How does eight o'clock sound?" Jackson was saying and Hayley nodded.

"Sure," Hayley said absently as Elijah passed without seeming to see her. "I've got to go to the restroom," she called out to Marcel and then hurried away before he could reply.

Hurrying down the hall, Hayley saw Elijah entering the staircase and followed him. Racing forward, Hayley dodged a clump of nurses and hurried to the door. Jerking it open, she entered the stairwell and shouted. "Elijah!" Elijah looked up at her with a startled expression, stopping on the flight below her. Rushing down the steps to meet him, she looked at him, her face contorting with worry. "Why are you avoiding me?"

"Why would you think that I'm avoiding you?" Elijah inquired blandly and she wanted to slap the blank expression off his handsome features.

"I mean that you wanted to spend _more_ time together. After the party," Hayley replied in a hushed tone as she noticed other people heading down the stairs.

"You seemed to be more interested in spending your time with Dr. Dupree. It is perfectly fine, Hayley, after all we never said that we were exclusive," Elijah explained with that same blank expression.

'Was he kidding her with this shit?' Hayley wondered as she stared back at him. "No, we didn't. Are you telling me that you _don't_ want to be exclusive?" she asked, feeling her throat closing up.

"_No_. That is not what I said. All I am trying to say is that if _you_ would like to pursue _other_ avenues then that is _your_ decision and I respect how you feel," Elijah said slowly and Hayley was trying very hard to not strangle him. There would be too many witnesses. And her pager was going off. "It seems that you're wanted _elsewhere_. Good day, Doctor." Elijah muttered and then walked away. Hayley gaped as she watched him walk away. He totally just dismissed her. Didn't he?

Grabbing her pager, Hayley yanked it off her pants and noticed that it was Marcel. 'Damn it,' she thought as she ran back up the stairs.

"_Enjoying_ your week, Marshall?" Klaus called as he came jogging up beside her with a group of interns following him, and an angry looking Caroline in the very back.

"_Every_ single minute," Hayley quipped. He was a jackass and she had other things to do than make idle chit chat. "Places to be. _Other_ attendees to deal with."

"Do you feel as if you're 'dealing with the attendees,' Marshall? I truly feel as if it is us attendees who are saddled with each new crop of children who wish to wield a scalpel who are dealing, Klaus replied with a malicious grin that reminded Hayley of Kol in a bad mood. Or maybe it was the other way around. One day she would have to ask Rebekah which one was the oldest.

"Got to go," Hayley called as she pushed the door to the stairwell open and nearly crashed into Rebekah.

"Bloody hell," Rebekah snapped. "You could have knocked me out with that thing."

"First lesson, always watch the doors in case someone is in a hurry," Marcel called out to what had become a group of six interns. Hayley did not remember any of them from the orientation but she hadn't really been there to make friends. "Come on, people. Onward," Marcel shouted. Her group was led through several rooms in which Rebekah yawned and wanted to know when they would be getting to see a truly interesting surgery.

Hayley shrugged while trying to avoid Jackson who kept trying to talk to her about something. "I'm sorry, I need to get over there," she said at one point and slipped back next to Rebekah who was on the other end of one of the patient's rooms.

"And now what you've all been waiting for. Or at least Dr. Mikaelson has been waiting for," Marcel said and then unveiled a child of about two. Klaus, Elijah, Kol, Sage and Finn were all standing in the room with even more interns. The parents of the child did not look happy as they looked at the team. "This is Susie Peters. She was born with organs that were fused together. This little girl has already been through five surgeries since she was born. Tomorrow, we're going to perform her final surgery to defuse her heart from her lungs. That means that we're going to need as many hands on deck as we can get because this is a very delicate procedure and we are working against the clock. _Got_ _it_?"

"Yes, sir," the interns replied in a choir.

"Alright," Marcel said with a grin. "Does that sound good to you, Mr. and Mrs. Peters?"

"Just do whatever you can to save our baby?" Mrs. Peters said as she looked down at her daughter who was playing with a stuffed dog.

"We will," Finn assured her and then they were leaving the room.

"That is going to be amazing," Rebekah said. "Such a tiny set of organs. It will be a wonderful if the child survives."

"Bekah," Klaus snapped as he came to stand behind her.

While Rebekah started to argue with her brother, Hayley took the opportunity to follow Elijah who was walking toward the stairs. Without making the attendee aware of her presence, Hayley hurried down the stairs after him. When he arrived on the first floor and moved toward the on-call room, Hayley looked around before entering. "Hayley?" Elijah looked confused as Hayley shut the door and locked it.

"I want to be exclusive," Hayley said quickly. "With you. I want to be exclusive with you." Sliding her shirt over her head, Hayley watched Elijah's expression as she pulled down her scrub pants and let them drop to the floor. "I want to make plans with you," she said as she unhooked her bra. "I want to go out with you." Pushing her underwear down, she walked over to him and stared up, feeling more naked than she had felt with a guy in a long time.

"I would very much like that," Elijah said quietly as he pulled her to him and kissed her slowly before they climbed onto one of the beds. Hayley felt relieved as she helped him out of his clothes and they began what was swiftly becoming much more than just a physical connection. "And what should we do for this date?"

"I don't know. I was thinking maybe a movie and a pizza," Hayley murmured as her fingers became intertwined with Elijah's.

"Pizza?" looking amused, Elijah took a finger and began to trace tiny hearts along Hayley's stomach and then kissing the spots.

"Ummm… hmmm… Guilty pleasure food," Hayley sighed as Elijah's mouth trailed lower and she entangled her fingers in the sheet beneath her. "Hmmm…." she moaned, arching her back as she stared at the upper bunk with absolutely no feelings of guilt whatsoever. So, she was having an affair with her boss's boss. It happened. Life happens. Sex was happening right now and she didn't care what the hell anybody else thought about it. Then the door knob began to rattle.

"_Whoever_ is in there, kindly unlock the door. Some of us would like to get an hour's rest before they have to go back to work," Dr. Bennett called and Hayley felt her stomach somersault.

"Oh, my God," Hayley gasped when Elijah placed his hand over her mouth.

"Hey, I'm _not_ kidding. That better not be you, Lockwood, in there with one of the nurses again. I swear that you will be on SCUT for a month," Dr. Bennett hissed as Elijah pulled his pants on and moved toward the door. Hayley pulled the blanket over her head but peered out to see what would happen. This was her worst nightmare come true.

Opening the door and placing his body in the space, Elijah's head titled downward. "Dr. Bennett, I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience. I simply needed to take a few hours to rest before a surgery. It was not my intention to prevent others from resting. Allow me to gather my belongings and I will be out in just a moment."

"Oh, Dr. Mikaelson. I'm so sorry. If I had known who was in here I would not have bothered you, sir," Dr. Bennett replied. "I thought it was one of the new interns. Some of them have not learned how to behave in a hospital yet."

"Yes, I understand," Elijah told her and Hayley could almost see that smile that made her toes curl.

"Take as much time as you need," Dr. Bennett mumbled and Hayley heard her feet moving away. Smiling triumphantly, Hayley got up and jumped into Elijah's arms feeling giddy.

"So, _many_ hours, what do you think that we should do with them?" Elijah inquired and Hayley giggled as he held her close to prevent her head from hitting the upper bunk.

"How about the _next_ eight," Hayley told him as she laid on top him with her head on his chest. "I think that I could have an excellent nap with my new pillow." Resting her head sideways, she smiled at the wall across from her.

Elijah stroked her lower back as she yawned. "Is it not possible that Marcel might require your services at some point," he questioned her, his other hand coming upward to slide through her hair.

Looking up at Elijah, Hayley felt playful. "Can't you ask him to switch me to _your_ shift? Since he took one of your interns it only seems _fair_," she murmured as she started to kiss his chest and made a slow trail downward until she found an area that would make him more responsive toward her cause. And she could be very persuasive when she wanted to be.

"Yes, I believe that I could… talk him… into… that," Elijah's words stopped as he placed his hand on Hayley's head and she felt satisfied with herself.

"ELIJAH," Klaus bellowed from the other side of the door as he began to knock on it and then tried the doorknob. Hearing it twist open, Hayley felt horrified as Elijah jerked the blanket over her head. "Brother, I need you to give me a consult on… Oh, my," Klaus sounded a little too amused as he came to stop beside the bunk. "And _what_ do we have here."

"_Nothing_ that concerns you, Niklaus. Now, please, do _leave_," Elijah replied and Hayley felt like she was about to die.

'Please, let Klaus not pull the blanket down. Please. Please. Please," Hayley pleaded inwardly as she heard him tapping his foot.

"Klaus," Hayley heard Caroline call as she entered the room and then she became quiet. "Oh, my God. I am so sorry." Then there was the sound of the door opening and closing again.

"Now, that is the appropriate response to this situation," Elijah stated flatly.

Klaus snickered. "Oh, brother, such a hypocrite. You stand on your high moral ground and look down upon all of us, lowly mortals. Now, look at you. You're no better than I am. Come on, sweetheart, there's _nothing_ to be scared of. I don't bite. And I shall keep your secret." Klaus called in a coaxing tone and Hayley wanted very much to hit him where it would hurt him the most.

"Klaus," Rebekah called as she came into the room and Hayley felt the need to scream but she couldn't because there was an obstacle in the way. "Oh my. Elijah, are you in the middle of having intercourse," Rebekah inquired and Hayley snorted a laugh.

"And apparently whoever it is finds the situation amusing but refuses to divulge their identity," Klaus related to Rebekah who sniffed loudly before she started to chuckle. "Let's leave them to it, Nik. If it is that important to the girl. Assuming it is a girl, then we will find out soon enough. I wonder if it's Caroline. That would be shocking." Rebekah added with a laugh as the Mikaelson siblings headed toward the door.

"No, it's not, sister. I just saw her," Klaus said when they were at the door.

"One of the nurses then," Rebekah surmised. "What is with all of you and the nurses?"

Hayley did not hear Klaus' response because the door closed and she felt relieved as she leaned back and brushed her hair out of her face. "We need to make sure we lock the door next time," she told Elijah who nodded.

Getting up, Elijah walked over to the door and flicked the lock closed before returning to her. "Where were we?" he questioned Hayley with a look that made her start laughing. "You are beautiful," he breathed as he laid beside her and placed his hand to her cheek.

"Thanks for being one of the best men that I have met," Hayley whispered.

"Don't say that," Elijah whispered back, looking down at the bed and then back at her. "You don't even know me."

"Yet," Hayley replied, scooting closer and resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't know you yet. But we have plenty of time to get to know each other. Right?"

"Yes, that we do," Elijah mumbled as he pressed his lips to her temple and wrapped his arms around her. "Sleep now."

"Okay," Hayley said, closing her eyes and allowing exhaustion to be her guide.

**Okay, here we are again. I wanted to make a quick note that I will putting this story on a short two week hiatus while I work on some Halloween based fics because I love Halloween. One of them is called "Sugar and Spice and Our Mother is Not Nice which will include Haylijah and most of the Original family. There will also be a Davina, Josh and Caleb (Kol) fic called "A Night at the Abbatior." And one Rebel fic called "She's a Trick(ster) and He's a Treat." If anyone has any specific group of people or pairing whether it's family, friendship or romance I'm open to almost anything. So let me know. **

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and for reviewing.**

**Answers to reviews: **

**Guest: Thank you for the support. **

**Alexis2106: Thank you for reviewing and I will see what I can do. **

**Suzz Pozz: They're in there but it won't be until Hayley realizes that there's more to Bonnie's and Kol's relationship than we begin to see more of them.**

**Guest: Thank you. I hope that you enjoy the bits of Rebel that appear and that you get the chance to read my Rebel Halloween fic. I do not writer about that fabulous vampires nearly as much as I ought to and I love her so much. **

**Sammiewolf: Thank you as always. Good, because sometimes I forget and don't take care of things. Anyway, while this story on hiatus you could check out some of my other stories such as "A Not so Brief Tour of Mystic Falls High" which is in the TVD cue. It's more or a crossover event between TVD and TO but I'm too lazy to put most of my crossovers in the crossover cue. The story includes Haylijah as one of the major couples, and trust me you've never seen Hayley or Elijah like you will in that fic. There's also my "Haylijah Halloween Series." Just in case you get bored during the hiatus. **

**Magnolia123: You're welcome. I love Haylijah and love to write about them. If you want to you can check out my fic, "A Not so Brief Tour of Mystic Falls" which includes Haylijah as one of the major couples because it's more of a TVD/TO crossover since almost every character from the two shows will show up in the story. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello, my lovely readers. And it's back with some new faces and an appearance by most of the cast with Haylijah, of course. **** On with the show…**

Chapter 11: For Rent

On her fourth day of work, Hayley was going to be doing SCUT in the pit. Most of her fellow interns dreaded the news that they would be subjected to spending their day, and in this case, their night in the pit. But Hayley was relieved when Dr. Bennett gave her the news. She could have cheered knowing that she could avoid her fellow interns, the attendees and mostly worrying about whether she got to observe a surgery. What she could look forward to was a movie and great sex with Elijah in her own bed after her shift was over.

Sighing happily, Hayley tacked up an ad on the bulletin board to let the other interns know that she was looking for roommates. "What's this?" Klaus asked, making Hayley jump as he peered over her shoulder. "Looking for roommates, are we? You can have Bekah anytime you want her. I'll even pay her rent. Just make sure she does not have it off with too many busboys or other fools."

Hayley folded her arms over her chest and glared at Klaus. "You know you should _really_ mind your own business."

Klaus smirked back at her. "I should. But I choose not to when it comes to my family," he replied, his eyes narrowing. "And don't think that I'm so unaware as to not be able to see what others cannot."

"Oh, yeah," Hayley snapped back at Klaus although her stomach was flipping. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I'm simply giving you a bit of friendly advise, love," Klaus whispered, leaning closer and Hayley felt irritated at his not acknowledging her right to personal space. "I _know_," he said, looking her in the eye and Hayley felt the air in her lungs disappear. That was impossible.

"You know _what_?" Hayley inquired, hoping that Klaus was bluffing as a group of nurses passed by them and Klaus straightened up with a grin.

"I _know_ that you happen to need roommates and I happen to need to unload a sister," Klaus told her as more people walked by.

Rolling her eyes, Hayley started to walk away when he caught her by the _upper_ arm. "You might want to not leave your pager on top of your scrubs next time. You're the only one with a red one." Letting go of Hayley's arm, Klaus walked away and Hayley gritted her teeth. 'Damn him,' she thought.

Making her way to the stairs, Hayley wondered what else could happen to make her life suck just a little bit more. Entering the pit as it was so aptly called she found another reason. Jackson Dupree was standing and stitching a little boy's knee closed as the child's mother tried to soothe him.

"Hey, are you going to just stand there or are you actually going to do some work?" a red haired nurse snapped at Hayley and Hayley stared at the nurse. "See that line over there?" the nurse asked Hayley and Hayley nodded. "They're all here for immunizations. Now, why don't you try being useful and go administer them?"

Before Hayley had chance to respond the nurse walked away to yell at another intern who looked like a deer in the headlights. "Looks like you met Genevieve," Jackson called as he peeled his gloves off. Hayley gulped down her alarm at his noticing her and forced a wide smile.

"Yes, I guess I did. And apparently I need to go give those people their shots," Hayley said quickly before moving toward the line of people. "Hi, everyone, I'm Dr. Marshall," Hayley called to the patients who stared at her with a mixture of boredom and hostility.

"It's about time," one man called. "I've been waiting for someone to get this over for three hours. I need to get to work."

Grabbing a pair of gloves, Hayley forced another smile as she called for the first person in line to come take a seat. Picking up a needle she tried to think of something happy. "So, this is going to sting a little," Hayley informed the woman who looked at her like she was stupid and then stared at the ceiling. Swabbing the woman's upper arm, Hayley administered the shot and felt proud that the woman did not shout in pain. She was really not sure how good she was at this part. "Next," she called.

After the fiftieth person came to sit and have their immunization Hayley felt wary of how many needles she had disposed of. Her arms were beginning to ache and her stomach was growling. "You can stop after that one," Genevieve called. "I've found something else for you to do."

Sighing, Hayley finished giving the last patient her shot and got up from the stool. Taking a step forward she started to fall on her face when Genevieve grabbed her by the waist. "Okay, Marshall, is it?" Hayley nodded feeling the room spin. "You're a doctor and you don't know that you need to eat something after a certain amount of hours?" Shaking her head, Genevieve led Hayley out of the room and down the hall. "Snack machine. Get some crackers and cheese, a bottle of orange juice and sit down for the next fifteen minutes. I expect you back after your break and I'm going to have you taking temps."

"Thank you," Hayley said quietly. Genevieve nodded before hurrying away. Making her purchases, Hayley slumped to the floor and began to eat. She could not believe that she almost passed out. The nurse, Genevieve, was right, she wasn't paying attention and that could mean that someone could get hurt.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Jackson asked as he came toward her and then started to slip quarters into the coffee machine.

"I just needed to get something in my system," Hayley replied with a faint smile.

"The first week can be rough," Jackson told her as he pulled his coffee out and sat it down before sliding to the floor beside Hayley.

Looking at Jackson, Hayley's eyebrows rose. "How long have you been working on your internship?"

"Three years," Jackson said with a slow nod. "It gets easier. With time you begin to get used to the pace and knowing your limits. When you need to eat or take a nap. Whether you can stand in an OR for fifteen hours," he continued and Hayley smiled at the thought.

"Have you been able to assist yet?" Hayley asked him and Jackson grinned at her.

"Yup. A few times. You just have to wait your turn. You'll get there soon enough, Just be careful. It's really easy to make a mistake. And don't fall apart the first time that you lose a patient because it's going to happen. And it's going to suck. But you cannot save everyone. As hard as we try to we can't," Jackson murmured as he stared at the opposite wall, his face contorting and then he smiled. "It's great when you're able to save someone. It's like the greatest high."

"I can't wait," Hayley said with a grin when she spotted Genevieve.

"Come on, Marshall. Dupree, did someone tell you to go on a break?" Genevieve snapped and Jackson got to his feet.

Trudging back to the pit, Hayley tossed her trash in a waste basket and was led to the area where she would be administering temps. "Okay, see these ten people," Genevieve waved her finger in a wide circle to indicate the people she was referring to. "You will be rotating through them. If any of them has a temp over the number on their chart then you need to let me know so that I can call upstairs and get Dr. Bennett down here. Got it?"

"Yes," Hayley replied with a quick nod and forced herself to not salute. Pulling on a pair of gloves she started to introduce herself to the patients and to check their charts. It didn't seem that hard except when she started to confuse which patient was which. It's never a good sign when you think a twenty-five year old is a ninety-two year old.

"Hey, slacker," Rebekah called as she came up behind Hayley who was checking the older patient's temperature. "Oh, look at you. You're down here playing babysitter while I'm upstairs running results of labs, filling out charts, yelling at the boys in radiology about getting us the bloody scans in a prompt time and slapping the nurses away from Marcel. He's driving me crazy."

"Is that something new?" Hayley replied with a laugh.

"You have no idea what it's like to have to work side by side with…" Rebekah trailed off as she looked anywhere but at Hayley.

Hayley picked up a chart and made note of the new temp. "With?" she waited for Rebekah to finish her sentence and looked up when Rebekah continued to stare at the floor.

"He's my brother's best friend and Nik was like a mentor to Marcel. It's just not right. I can't… And he's my boss. I just… I shouldn't. Oh, why am I even talking about this with you?" Rebekah snapped, folding her arms over her chest she started to walk away from Hayley.

"Rebekah," Hayley called out loudly causing patients to stare at her.

Rebekah stopped and whirled around on her heel. "What?"

"Come back," Hayley waved a hand to Rebekah. Pausing for a moment, Rebekah came back over to Hayley. "Look, you feel the way you feel. And maybe it's a crush. And there are lots of guys at the hospital. Like Jackson. He's cute, right?"

Turning to look at Jackson, Rebekah's upper lip curled. "That is not my type."

"Then go out with Tyler. Just find somebody. If you go out with other people and it doesn't feel right then you'll know," Hayley said slowly and Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"You give such lovely advice," Rebekah said with a sardonic smile.

"Don't I?" Hayley quipped.

"Doctor," the ninety-two year old woman called. She was waving her hand so Hayley moved toward her bed. "There's something wrong with that girl over there. She's bleeding."

"What?" Hayley turned to see that the twenty-five year old woman was cupping her nose which was leaking blood like a sink that had been left on high. "Oh, my God." Rebekah whirled around and jumped into action.

"Put your head back," Rebekah ordered and the woman did as she was ordered as Hayley hurried to her side. Then the woman's eyes were rolling back in her head. "Shit," Rebekah muttered, staring at Hayley.

Leaning over the woman, Hayley did not hear her lungs moving as she pressed her stethoscope to the woman's chest. "She's not breathing," she announced. Placing her hands over the woman's chest she began to administer CPR. "Come on. Stay with me. Lee Anne, you're not going anywhere tonight," Hayley shouted.

Rebekah was yelling at one of the nurses to page Dr. Bennett as Jackson came toward them and Hayley took a step back as he listened to the woman's chest and groaned. "Her heart's not beating either. We need a crash cart, Mikaelson." Rebekah ran and grabbed the machine before she sped it toward the patient's side.

Turning the machine on, Jackson rubbed the paddles together before handing it to Hayley. "You wanted to save a life," he announced, staring Hayley in the eyes as Rebekah quickly yanked the woman's gown down and placed pads on her chest.

Nodding, Hayley placed the paddles to the woman's chest and watched the woman's vitals with her own heart racing in her chest. When she saw the rising line indicate that her patient's heart was pumping again, Hayley let out a giddy laugh. "She's okay. She's okay. Okay, people, she needs blood like now!" she shouted as Genevieve arrived and then moved to make the call.

"Get her upstairs. Now!" Genevieve ordered Hayley and Rebekah who nodded. "And good work, Marshall."

Smiling, Hayley felt like the rest of the night flew by. It really was a high to save a patient's life. So when she got home she was rather happy when she found Elijah waiting for her with a bottle of champagne. "Rumor has it that you saved a life today," Elijah said, opening his arms and embracing Hayley.

"I did," Hayley said proudly. "It felt incredible." Pulling out her key, she unlocked the door and they walked inside. Elijah walked back to the kitchen with the bottle as she pulled her hair down and ruffled it. "You know that I think I could get used to this being a doctor thing," she called in a light tone as she entered the kitchen to find Elijah trying to find champagne flutes. "They're to you're right," she told him.

Elijah smiled back at her as he pulled the cabinet open and took two down. Tugging the cork out of the bottle, champagne went spraying over the counter and Hayley began to giggle. Why was she giggling so much? She was not the type to giggle. It must be something about being with Elijah. He made her giggle. "A toast to the first life you saved," he announced as he poured her drink and handed it to her.

"To us," Hayley replied with a twinkle in her eye as Elijah lifted his own glass and they made that little clinking sound that made her giggle again. "What should we get for dinner?"

"I thought you wanted a pizza," Elijah replied with a smirk as he reached across the counter for her hand.

"I did but does pizza sound like the type of food that one would eat with champagne?" Hayley inquired.

"Well, what do you suggest then?" Elijah inquired.

"I thought that maybe we could go out to dinner," Hayley replied rounding the counter and placing her arms around his neck beginning to sway her hips to music that was playing in her head.

"Or we could stay in," Elijah murmured. Taking her hand, he spun her in a slow circle before pulling her back to him.

"Staying in sounds good, too," Hayley replied, trembling slightly as his hands slid to the front her of her jeans and made quick work of them. Taking his hand, Hayley gasped as he pressed her to the counter. This was a great day indeed. Elijah was very good at making Hayley forget her own name and at that moment in time was no exception.

As Hayley was enjoying her desert, the doorbell rang and she cursed as Elijah stopped his movements. Why couldn't she just change her address. Move to a remote location where only Elijah knew where she lived and maybe the mailman. Turning to face Elijah, Hayley opened her mouth to speak when he leaned down, kissing her like there was no one at the door. Placing her hand on the back of his neck, she decided to follow his lead while wrapping her legs around his waist. If it was so important then they could call her.

Elijah was in the process of lying Hayley on the floor of her kitchen so that they could go get back to where they had been before they had been so rudely interrupted when her phone rang in her jean's pocket. Growling, Hayley slapped her offending pants away and pulled Elijah closer. Finally, the ringing was making her crazy and she reached for her phone. Looking at the name, she groaned. "Rebekah?" she muttered hoarsely.

"Yes," Rebekah snapped irritably. "Why aren't you answering the door?" To emphasize the point, she hit the bell again, causing it to boom throughout the household. "Have you gone deaf? That's very curious due to your ability to hear me earlier in the day. And why is it that Elijah's car in parked in your lot? Is my brother in your house for some reason?"

Hayley's eyes widened as she stared at Elijah who was listening silently with a frown. "No. Why would Elijah be in my house at this time of night?" Hayley snapped back in a tone that said she was offended by Rebekah's question. "It must just be a car that looks like Elijah's," Hayley added.

Rebekah scoffed. "I doubt that others have the same license plate as my brother. Fine. Keep your secret to yourself but be warned that Josh, Tyler and Caroline are on their way and that they should be here at any moment."

"Why?" Hayley yelled into the phone as she pushed Elijah off of her and scrambled to find her clothes.

Elijah mouthed. "What's going on?"

"Interns," Hayley mouthed back.

"And Caroline insisted on bringing that Jackson person," Rebekah continued, unphased by Hayley's panic.

Pulling the zipper of her jeans upward, Hayley kissed Elijah on the lips quickly before watching him leave. Hurrying to the front door, Hayley ran her hands through her hair before unlocking it. "Hey," she said with a mild frown. "Is Caroline trying to have another party at my house again?" she questioned Rebekah who slid past her and into the living room. The Mikaelson sister seemed to be looking for something or someone.

"No, she's hoping to convince you to allow her to come live here as one of your roommates. You can blame yourself for that one with a sign that Nik told me about. I'd also like to thank you for that," Rebekah was saying as she spun on her heel to glower at Hayley. "He's kicked me out and now I am homeless. My things are in the car. Guess I'll be staying here at least for tonight."

Hayley was about to reply when Josh appeared with Caroline, Tyler and Jackson. "Hey, it's time to party," Caroline cheered as she walked inside. Tyler was carrying a keg and Hayley felt like crying when others began to park in front of her house. When people she didn't even know began to walk past her and into her home like it was not her own, she quietly walked into the kitchen and found that someone was drinking her wine.

Snatching what was left of the bottle away, Hayley trudged up the stairs. Caroline was standing at the top with her phone in hand busily texting away. When she noticed Hayley she stopped. "Hey, Hayley. I heard that you're renting your rooms like I suggested. I was wondering what your qualifications are, because I have great references."

"Hayley, how much is the rent going to be?" Tyler called from the bottom of the stairs.

Hayley shook her head as she walked toward the bathroom as Josh was exiting. "Hayley, I heard that you're renting out some of the rooms," he began when Hayley walked into the empty bathroom and closed the door in his face. Going over to the bathtub, she climbed in and sat down.

Apparently Hayley had forgotten to lock the door because minutes later Rebekah came in and closed the door with a bottle of vodka in hand. Sitting down beside the tub, Rebekah stared at Hayley. "What are you doing?" she asked quietly.

"Drinking," Hayley replied, taking a sip from her bottle that she had clutched to her chest.

"No," Rebekah shook her head as she leaned her head backwards and onto the rim of the tub. "I mean with Elijah. What are you doing? And don't you dare say nothing."

"I don't know what I'm doing with Elijah," Hayley moaned as she placed her head next to Rebekah's.

"You're shagging him," Rebekah replied dully no sign of a question in her tone. "And he's your boss. Hell, he's your boss's boss. He's our boss's boss. And you can could get into massive trouble. He won't. Because he's the boss's son and the golden boy. No one ever questions what the men in my bloody family do. Just me. Can't do anything without the approval of anyone." Narrowing her eyes, Rebekah glanced at Hayley. "So I won't tell if you let me live here for half the rent that you charge the others."

"Shit. Rebekah. I thought we were friends," Hayley muttered and Rebekah scoffed.

"Friends tell their friends when they're having it off with their friend's brother," Rebekah retorted with an evil glare.

"But you already knew. So why was I supposed to tell you. And you don't tell me about whatever it is going on between you and Marcel," Hayley pointed out.

"What's there to tell?" Rebekah inquired airily. "There is nothing going on. At least not now."

"Tell me something so that we'll be even. Or I'll ask Elijah for a dirty secret to hold over your head," Hayley warned as Rebekah smirked.

"I slept with Marcel the night of my eighteenth birthday. No one knows about that. Especially my brothers. Just me and that wanker who is now my boss's boss. This time I'm referring to Marcel," Rebekah added with a roll of her eyes. "It's hard working for someone who has seen you naked."

"Yeah. It is," Hayley replied and the interns sat thoughtfully as a party raged downstairs.

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and reading. **

**Answers to reviews:**

**Guest: Thank you. **

**Guest: Thank you. **

**Guest: That's awesome. **

**Alexis2106: Thank you for the idea. **

**CK 19: Thank you. **

**Magnolia123: Well, we got some Haylijah last week even if it did turn out to be all in Elijah's head it was totally worth it. You're welcome. **

**Taylor: Davina will definitely make an appearance because I love her. And since Mer of **_**Grey's**_** has sisters falling out of the sky you never know. **

**Guest: Thanks for reviewing. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello, my lovely readers. First, please check out "Christmas in miniature." It's a bit of a crack fic but it's fun crack. **** I know that it's been awhile and that this chapter is being posted on an unusual day but I plan to have another, very Christmasy chapter posted this coming Tuesday. On with the show…**

Chapter 12: Prepping for Christmas

The life of a doctor was not always one of beauty and triumph. Sometimes the patients didn't make it. Other times they survived their surgeries to move on to bright and shiny, new lives. Those in the second category were the reason that Hayley Marshall would drag herself out of bed, staggering into the bathroom most mornings. Rebekah would be sitting on the floor of the bathroom with a cup of coffee. Josh would be shaving. Tyler would be leaning against a wall, trying to fall back asleep. And Caroline would be singing in the shower. Yes, the roommates had arrived. WHY?

This morning Hayley got up to head to the bathroom to find it completely empty. Where was everyone? Had she slept through the apocalypse and she was the only person left on earth? "Hello?" Hayley called, taking a tentative step out of the bathroom when Rebekah appeared with a steaming cup in hand.

"Good morning, love. Take this. Caroline made it," Rebekah informed Hayley, who took a tentative sip. You could be sure of one thing. If Caroline or Tyler offered you a drink, it probably contained heavy amounts of alcohol.

Tasting the drink, Hayley was shocked to find that there was nothing alcoholic whatsoever. "That is good," Hayley told Rebekah who was nodding with a genuine smile.

"Yes, it is. It's about the nicest part of Caroline's little traditions. Once you get downstairs you might find yourself wishing that that was spiked after all," Rebekah called over her shoulder as she hurried toward the stairs. "Might want to get a move on it before or you'll end up being late. Father disapproves of tardiness."

"Your dad's back?" Hayley retorted as she followed Rebekah toward the stairs. She could hear "Frosty the Snowman" blaring through her speaker system. Looking at the banister, she noticed that it was covered in a long stream of cheery dancing Santas.

"Yes. And he hates Christmas. You've been warned." The warning was all but drowned out by the sound of Klaus yelling over the music.

"Can I have the bloody syrup?" Klaus bellowed at Caroline who was dancing around the kitchen as if he wasn't talking to her. "Caroline?"

"What is going on down here?" Hayley shouted above the music to Josh who was shoveling the last of a waffle into his mouth. Shrugging, he placed his plate and fork in the sink.

"Got to go. See you later, Hales," Josh muttered close to Hayley's ear before he smiled cheerily. Looks like someone was happy since they met Aiden, the male nurse who worked the night shift.

Hayley groaned. At least one of them was getting laid. Since all of her roommates had moved in she hadn't really had a moment to herself to do much of anything. There was always someone wandering the halls. That meant that she and Elijah had to roam the halls of the hospital, trying to find two minutes together. Of course, it did not help when Bonnie would appear from nowhere, along with one of Elijah's siblings, his sister-in-law and now his father who she knew nothing about.

Moving swiftly across the room, Hayley turned the stereo down. Caroline whirled around on her heel with a spatula in one hand and her other hand, which was waving beside it, in mid-dance. "I'm sorry, Hayley. I should have asked first," Caroline said with a smile that meant she was not sorry.

Dear god. Hayley really had been around these people too much. She was beginning to be able to notice the little details of their behavior. 'No, this is bad. I don't want to connect this much. Get waffle and get out,' Hayley ordered herself when Klaus had to get in the way to pin Caroline to the counter because she was between the stack of plates and blocking the syrup.

"Klaus, what are you doing here?" Hayley snapped at Klaus as she shoved him out of the way to grab a plate. He collided with Caroline who blew out a long breath.

"Nice save, Care," Tyler hooted from the table. "If only you were so good at catching blood bags then you wouldn't have looked like Carrie last week when Dupree tossed you that one bag. It splattered all over her and the walls," he told the group while Caroline sneered.

"You're an ass, Tyler," Caroline yelled.

"You wish I was your ass, baby," Tyler replied as he got up to toss his dishes into the sink.

"Fry in hell, Evil Spawn," Rebekah shouted with a happy wave at Tyler who held up his middle finger.

"Get bent, Mikaelson," Tyler snapped.

Rebekah smirked. "You hear how he talks to you, brother?" she inquired with a cup of coffee held just below her lips as she blew on the top of the steaming liquid.

Ignoring his sister momentarily, Klaus grinned at Hayley in a manner that made her gulp because it meant he was about to deliver a stinging reply. "I'm here because I am trying to avoid the hospital while my father is working his shift, and I had yet to eat."

"And you thought this was free food bank or something? Want to eat here, then donate to the fund," Hayley held up a half empty coffee can. The other half of the can was filled with ones, fives and tens. All of the money went to the week's supply of groceries for all five interns as well as take-out food and luxury items, like Kotex, which the guys complained bitterly about contributing to. The ladies of the house decided to compromise and add condoms to the grocery list which shut the men up.

Looking at the can, Klaus scoffed until Caroline reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Pulling out a fifty, she stuffed it into the bottom of the can, smiling at Klaus afterward. Picking up the syrup bottle, she shoved it into his chest before walking over to the table to sit down. Klaus glowered but Hayley could tell that he was happy because he didn't threaten Caroline with SCUT duty for the day. Smirking at his sister, Klaus announced, "Bekah, I will have Bennett place Lockwood on SCUT the minute I go to work."

"Fine," Rebekah replied, downing her coffee, she kissed Klaus on the cheek and then grabbed Hayley by the arm, who had only been able to swallow a fourth of her waffle. "We're off. You two don't do anything that will get Nik fired."

"You're not coming to work today?" Hayley questioned Caroline who coughed loudly.

"I've got a terrible cold," Caroline replied with a sniffle. "It could spread all over the hospital and contaminate people. Germs. Horrible."

Shaking her head, Hayley caught Caroline plopping down in Klaus' lap and letting him feed her waffle. Damn them. She and Elijah should be having waffles with a side of sex on the kitchen table. Hayley allowed Rebekah to half drag her out the front door and out to her car. There was no way that Hayley would ever get on Bekah's bike. No way in hell.

"Do you believe Caroline's story that she's sick?" Rebekah inquired as she pulled her seat belt on while Hayley drove down the road with her mind full of sex with Elijah.

"Huh?" Hayley felt puzzled. She knew that Rebekah had said something, but what it was exactly she wasn't certain about.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Are you fantasizing about Dupree, again?" For more than two months Hayley had been telling Rebekah that she had a huge crush on Jackson but that she just couldn't talk to him about it. Rebekah thought that meant that she should work as some kind of scary female Cupid who would find a way to force the two together during lunches, visits to the bar, parties, and worst all of in the locker room. Hayley did not want to be left alone with Jack in the locker room. She definitely did not want to be there when she and Elijah were having problems.

Once upon a time Hayley was the type of woman who did not really do commitment and would have sabotaged what she had with Elijah in favor of jumping Jack. However, Jack was Hayley's friend and she was happy with Elijah. Maybe she should lock Rebekah and Jack in a room during Caroline's next party. Then Rebekah might have a reason to leave her alone about her sex life. The other up side would be that Rebekah would stop feeling jealous of Marcel and that bartender, Cami. Personally, Hayley felt a friend vibe coming from the two but Rebekah was determined that she was right. Once Rebekah had an idea firmly in her mind it took a great amount of effort to dislodge the thought.

"Hayley, are you even listening to me?" Rebekah snapped, tossing a long blonde curl over her shoulder as she glowered at Hayley who forced a smile.

"I'm just thinking about whose shift we're going to be stuck on today," Hayley replied overly cheerful.

Rebekah rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Yes, I'm sure. And I'm Kate Middleton," she muttered as Hayley pulled into a parking spot. They got out and walked quietly up to the front doors. Inside the hospital was quieter than usual. Hayley knew that this meant nothing because there could be a bus crash or a gas explosion in the Quarter that would send hundreds in.

An older man of about forty-fifty years of age came walking across the lobby as they entered with his eyes on Rebekah. "Bekah," he greeted her with a warm smile and twinkling eyes. "There you are. Elijah told me that you would be arriving soon."

"Father," Rebekah replied with a wide smile. The two embraced for a moment before standing, examining each other as if they were two opponents about to do battle. "How has your first day back been?"

"Finn has done fairly well in my absence. However, there has been quite the mess to clean up with various legal problems where Niklaus apparently has performed surgery that was not approved by the parents of his patient. Kol is being sued for sexual harassment. Nothing new on that front. There is a rumor that Elijah has taken a lover among the interns. Sage is trying her utmost to give birth to the next generation while resetting someone's bloody leg. And you, my dear, seem to be the only one of my children that I do not have to worry about," Mikael informed his daughter who smiled proudly. "Although I'm somewhat worried about your progress. There is a rumor that you have yet to enter the O. R. Is this true?"

"I was simply waiting for a surgery worthy of my skills," Rebekah replied with a forced smile.

"Well then…" Mikael Mikaelson's attention moved from Rebekah to Hayley. "And you are?"

"I'm Dr. Hayley Marshall," Hayley replied with a smile. This was the Chief. Not the sub, but the real deal. She wanted to make a good impression.

However, fate was not looking down kindly on Hayley that day. "Marshall, come," Kol Mikaelson shouted as he came jogging down the stairs in a Santa Claus outfit.

"Kol? What are you wearing?" Mikael demanded staring at his son through narrowed eyes.

Kol smiled brightly. "I'm working with Nik to give tiny tots back some missing bits. A nose here, an eye there, and in one special case, one less tail." Beaming, Kol took Hayley by the hand, "Come, darling, we shall have so much fun together." Twirling the intern, Kol dipped her and grinned while waggling his eyebrows.

"Kol, sexual harassment," Mikael snarled which caused Kol to drop Hayley on the floor.

"Grand job, brother," Rebekah hissed as she pulled Hayley to her feet.

Mikael forced a smile for passing guests of the hospital who were being led on a tour by a disgruntled looking Sage. "Rebekah, doesn't helping Kol with his child who is having a tail removed sound like an excellent first operation to scrub in on?"

"No," Rebekah said flatly with a frown. "Father, you know that I prefer hearts!"

"We don't always get what we want, sister," Kol taunted. Rebekah balled her fist while Mikael looked for the group that Sage had been leading around. Sage was now sitting down in a chair, holding her stomach, breathing heavily.

"Do the bloody surgery! I must check on Finn's wife. You all do know that I am trying to run a damned hospital, yes? And where in the hell is Niklaus? I swear I will sack him if he does not report to duty in the next hour," Mikael growled before striding toward Sage.

"Should we check on her?" Hayley asked the siblings who were headed toward the stairs.

Rebekah looked at Sage and shrugged. "If there's actually something wrong then a nurse will page us. Speaking of which…" Pulling her cell out of her jeans pocket, Rebekah sent a page out. "Just relayed the message to Finn that he should get his arse over to O. B land to see if the little missus in popping out our little babe."

"Ours, sister?" Kol teased. "Didn't know that you had anything to do with it? But if you say so."

"Bugger yourself, Kol," Rebekah snapped, shoving his Santa belly, causing it to spin around to his back.

Kol glowered at his sister as he took the time to readjust his belly. "Someone isn't feeling particularly jolly this year. Afraid that Santa will be putting coal in your stocking?"

"I have Kol in my life all year 'round. Thank you," Rebekah replied. "Perhaps I should fill your stocking with reports of the atrocious manner in which you treat the women in this place?"

"Me? You have me mistaken for someone else. I love women and they love me," Kol replied with a wide smile.

Laughing, Rebekah only quieted when she saw Marcel headed down the opposite side of the hall with Elijah. Hayley's heartbeat increased as Elijah grew closer. The smile that formed on his face when he caught sight of her made her want to jump into his arms. "Kol, what are you wearing, man?" Marcel asked, examining Kol with his hands on his hips.

"An outfit that you could never pull off," Kol told him, hoisting his belly with his hands. Turning to his brother, Kol's eyes glowed. "Father says that you're shagging one of these," he inclined his head toward Rebekah and Hayley. Feeling herself cringe, Hayley stopped herself from defending Elijah.

Elijah placed his hand over his tie and smoothed it carefully before replying. "Kol, your time might be better served minding your own PR scandal rather than jumping at absurd scandals that are simply rumors made up by people who are very bored."

Marcel hooted before letting out a booming laugh that had several nurses and fellow doctors turned to stare. "Oh, just find something else to gawk at," Rebekah shooed them away with a frown. "These people…"

"Ah, Bekah," Marcel began when Rebekah stared at him with an icy glare.

"Shoo," Rebekah growled, waving Marcel off too. "Go do something important with hearts. I have to help remove a tail."

Marcel's eyebrows moved upward. "You know, Bekah, the only heart I'm interested in is yours."

Letting out a loud hiss, Rebekah began to stride away. "Kol. Hayley, Come. Let's get this disaster over with before I stab the heart guy with a scalpel."

After many hours of exciting work that she didn't mind but would rather be looking at brains, Hayley yawned. Walking into the stairwell, rotating her shoulders. She hoped she didn't run into Kol or Klaus. The older of the two Mikaelsons who was in a horrible mood when he arrived which did not improve after his father found him to yell at him for trying to blow off work. Dr. Bennett was also not happy because she was running around taking note of everything that the interns were doing wrong because Mikael had chewed her out, too. Then there were her fellow interns. Rebekah was angry at Marcel. Josh was struggling under Klaus' wrath. Tyler was covered in something that smelled like puke. Caroline was miserable because she had run into Mikael with a cup of coffee and then he caught her kissing Klaus. Needless to say that Caroline was in big trouble or at least she thought she was.

Hayley closed her eyes while rubbing her shoulders, trying to get the kinks out. Feeling a pair of hands come down on her shoulders, she felt startled. Looking up, Hayley found Elijah staring at her with a smile. "Want to go up on the roof and have dinner with me?"

Feeling like a puddle of mush, Hayley grinned happily. Taking Elijah's hand, Hayley let him lead her up to the rooftop. Opening a door, he waited for her to go ahead of him. Staring around, Haley's jaw dropped. "How did you do this?" Turning around, Hayley looked at Elijah with wide eyes. She knew he was amazing but this was seriously the most amazing thing.

"I hope that you like white wine," Elijah murmured in her ear as they walked across the rooftop to a small table for two. There was a small tent-like structure that was made of gauzy, see through material which protected the food but still allowed them to enjoy the view of a light snow shower, Hayley grinned widely.

"This is so beautiful," Hayley exclaimed as she looked at the view from inside the tent.

"You are beautiful. This," Elijah looked around himself, "is good timing."

"I don't care what it is. I want to stay this way. Forever," Hayley told him seriously as she looked at the food. It was true Southern cooking. She would have imagined that he would have served oysters but this was amazing and she loved that he knew that she craved seafood without it becoming some cliché. And lobster. She would marry this man if only he would make sure that she could eat lobster this good every week. Picking up her glass of wine, she clinked her glass with his. "To a hundred more lobsters dinners with the most amazing man that I know who can wear a bib and make it look like a tux."

Elijah replied. "To the woman who has made me want to live my life again. I thought that I could never love, nor trust, nor lay myself bare to another. Thank you, Hayley. Thank you for being that person."

Finishing her dinner, Hayley's eyes widened when Elijah pulled out an iPod and began to play "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." Taking his extended hand, she got to her feet and exited the tent. Walking out into the light snow shower, Hayley watched the snow fall with a laugh when Elijah pressed his lips to hers. She could not believe that she had gotten this lucky. Never in her life had Hayley thought of herself as a lucky girl, but Elijah Mikaelson made her feel like she could reach up and touch the stars. If she were honest with herself she would admit that every day she fell a little bit more in love with him. And that scared the hell out of her at the same time that it delighted her to her very core.

**Thank you for faving, following, reading and/or reviewing. **

**Answers to reviews: **

**Katherine Sparrow: Thank you. **

**Guest: I will definitely work Davina into the story at some point and since I've become a Kolvina shipper we'll probably see them together. As for killing them off… I suck at killing characters off and I think that a big part of the fanbase for this story would probably freak out. Not that I always do what the fans want… *Eye roll associated with The Mystic Falls Dare Club ups and downs.***

**Bbybear: Thank you for the very sweet compliment. **

**Guest: I did. Finally. I'm such a slacker. **

**Guest: Thank you for the overall compliment. **

**Guest: I'm a snail, crawling, so slowly… Ugh. Ha. Got there. **

**Guest: Thank you. Finally got it down. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello, my lovely readers. I will try to get a new chapter up for New Year's and then we will see how well I can keep up. I'm trying to write a book for publication so I promise that I haven't given up on Haylijah, I simply have a bigger project that I'm about halfway through but far from done with. On with the show…**

Chapter 13: It's Christmas Time

Coming downstairs, Hayley plopped down on her couch with Rebekah who was blowing on the top of a hot cup of coffee. They had just completed a twelve hour shift where any kind of accident you can conceive of had come through the ER. After Hayley had laid in her tub for an hour, she dragged herself into her bedroom to collapse. Ten minutes later Rebekah had come in and fallen face down on the bed. Another half hour later Tyler had entered to force Hayley to scoot over before he got in with them. Holidays, they bring out the best in everyone when your roomies can't find their own rooms.

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly," Caroline sang as she adjusted ornaments on the ridiculously large tree. It took up a tenth of the living room which would not be a big deal if it weren't for the fact that Caroline was planning a party that she had told Hayley about after entering her room ten minutes ago with far too much cheer.

"Who's Holly?" Tyler asked as he ran a hand over his eyes. "'Cause I don't have a date for tonight and it would be a shame for my bed to get cold."

Caroline rolled her eyes and shot Rebekah and Hayley a look. "No one. And if I did know someone by that name you would be the last person on earth I would introduce to her. Josh called and said he should be home around ten," she told the group.

"That is ridiculous," Rebekah exclaimed. "Why couldn't he have traded shifts with someone else? WE need him to offset Evil Spawn."

"Would you stop calling me that?" Tyler snapped before heading toward the kitchen. "Care, did you make cookies? I'm hungry."

"Who around here looks like your wife?" Hayley yelled at him as she got up to find out if there were cookies when the doorbell rang. She wondered who could have arrived this early. Going to the door and unlocking it, Hayley grinned. "Hi," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Smiling, Elijah leaned forward to kiss her when he noticed that Rebekah and Caroline were staring at him. "Hello, Hayley. Am I too early?"

"Maybe I little," Hayley told him when she noticed that he was holding a tray of what looked like Christmas cookies. A man that was good at everything including baking. Yes, he was definitely a keeper.

"Food," Tyler said as he appeared beside Hayley and took the tray off of Elijah's hands. "You are so my favorite Mikaelson," he announced.

"You're an ass," Rebekah shouted although she didn't need to since Tyler was standing all of ten feet from her at that point, chewing on a chocolate chip cookie.

"Should I come back later?" Elijah questioned Hayley.

"Maybe," Hayley said quietly. Nodding her head to the left, she was hoping that he would take the hint.

"Actually, I just realized that I need to go back and find my present for Rebekah," Elijah announced.

"Okay. We'll see you later," Hayley told him with a smile. Elijah waved before walking away. Closing the door, Hayley walked to the kitchen and poured herself a drink while waiting for the quiet knock that came. Stepping over to it with a look around the corner to make sure that no one was coming in, she opened the door. "Hi again," she said breathlessly when Elijah yanked her out with an arm wrapping tightly around her waist.

"Hello to you, too," Elijah whispered before pressing his lips to hers. Wrapping her arms around Elijah's neck, Hayley took a small leap for woman kind, wrapping her legs around his waist. She just hoped that her neighbors didn't look over their fence or they would get quite the show as Elijah pulled her panties off. "Merry Christmas," Elijah groaned as he pressed her into the side of her house and she gasped for breath.

"A very Merry Christmas," Hayley groaned as she kissed Elijah and pulled him closer. She could not think of anything better to be doing during the time before the party went into full swing.

"HAYLEY," Rebekah called from somewhere inside the house. Her voice was closer than Hayley felt comfortable with since she was in in a very compromising position with Elijah. The sound of Rebekah's heels was clicking closer to the door. Hayley sucked in a deep panicked breath. Rebekah's disgruntled scoff was heard right beside the door. Hayley looked at Elijah with wide eyes anticipating his sister pulling the door open and then yelling at both of them for their behavior. That would cause Tyler and Caroline to come out. "Someone left the door open again," Rebekah shouted as she closed the door.

Sighing, Hayley began to laugh when she heard a low chuckle. "That is certainly one interesting way to celebrate the holiday," Klaus said and Hayley closed her eyes before she re-opened them. No, she was not hallucinating Klaus was standing there with a bottle of champagne. "Oh, Elijah, and I wagered against Kol that the rumors about you were not true. What a shame. How the mighty have fallen," Klaus continued as Elijah set Hayley on her feet who smoothed her skirt down. "Now, here I was, thinking that perhaps I should not be chasing my own little intern and do you remember the advice you gave me? 'They're off limits. Not toys. They're your students. You must act with the utmost professionalism.'"

"Niklaus," Elijah began while zipping his pants. "I was worried about you. You tend to act on your impulses without thinking of the consequences."

Shaking his head, Klaus' expression darkened. "No longer do you tell me what to do with my life, Elijah. You have already proven yourself to be a hypocrite." Elijah's brows scrunched together as Klaus strode away.

"He'll get over it," Hayley said quietly. "As soon as Caroline takes him upstairs during the party his thoughts of us will disappear." Placing a hand on Elijah's shoulder, she waited for him to say something, anything. He was far too quiet and it was unnerving her.

"Hayley," Elijah began, looking down at her and she felt her heart squeeze painfully. She knew where this was going and, no, she was not going to let him do this. She was not going to let him push her away. They were good together. They were happy. And she was not going to let him shut her out because Klaus was having a tantrum. Elijah needed to start thinking about himself and stop taking care of a grown man-boy.

"No, Elijah. You're not going to break up with me because Klaus is a dick. Okay?" Hayley asked, cupping his cheek, she waited for his answer.

Sighing, Elijah smiled before sliding his arms around her waist and kissing her. Pressing her body against the building again, his lips moved from hers to her neck as his hands moved under her shirt, cupping her breasts and making her groan. Why couldn't she have the house to herself just for one night? Pulling away, Elijah pressed one last kiss to her lips. "You should go inside before I can no longer stop myself and I take you again. Given our luck half your guests would show up for the show."

"We could go back to your place," Hayley told him. She had had yet to go to his home. They were always either at her house or at the hospital and she was dying of curiosity to see where he lived.

"Perhaps after the party," Elijah said before twisting the knob of the kitchen door and waiting for her to enter the house. "I will meet you at the party."

Entering the house, Hayley was in the kitchen for no more than five minutes before Caroline came bouncing into the room. "Hey," she greeted Hayley with a happy grin. "Rebekah's been looking for you. It looks like we ran out of alcohol already." Picking one of Elijah's assorted cookies, she held it up. "Look, it's Santa Klaus." Following Caroline out of the kitchen, Hayley caught sight of several people who had arrived including Jackson, Kol and Marcel. "Look, Klaus. It's mini you," Caroline enthused as Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Looks like a mini dictator. That is certain," Rebekah said, examining the cookie.

"Bekah, why don't you go back to work and see if you can actually save a life?" Klaus inquired snidely. Marcel smiled at Rebekah who glared back at him as she tossed the cookie at Klaus's head and walked off. "See, the girl needs to learn how to take criticism."

"She's not a girl," Caroline snapped as she linked arms with Hayley and the two headed over in Tyler's direction who was talking to Jackson.

"Hey. How's your night going?" Jackson asked before taking a sip from his cup.

Brushing her hair back with a flick of her hand, Hayley tried to think of something interesting to say when all she could think about was Elijah. 'Speak of the devil,' Hayley thought as Elijah entered the house with Dr. Bennett. 'Great.' Feeling the smile on her face freeze, Hayley suppressed the desire to scream when Genevieve entered the house with a group of nurses and Aiden. That would make Josh happy but Josh was still at work. "Who did you invite to this party? I thought it was supposed to be a small get together with friends?" Hayley hissed at Caroline who smiled weakly.

Before Caroline could answer a group of people that Hayley had never met before entered the house. "ELENA!" Caroline screamed happily as Hayley's eyebrows rose. "Damon. I am so glad you made it," Caroline was saying as she dragged Hayley along by the arm. "Hayley Marshall, these are my friends from Virginia. Elena and Damon. This is Hayley, my roomie," she enthused.

"You mean you're my roomie," Hayley retorted with a tight smile as she held out a hand and shook the couple's. "How are you liking New Orleans?" she asked politely when a man stumbled up to the door, inside the house and ran into Damon.

"Hello, Gorgeous," the man said loudly before planting a kiss of a startled Caroline's lips.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Klaus demanded as he shoved partygoers out his way. Standing next to Caroline, he glared at the man who wasn't even looking at him. He only had eyes for Caroline. "I said -" Klaus began to say as Elena started talking at the same time.

"Care, I am so sorry. He insisted on coming with us. I tried to stop him from drinking on the plane ride. But you know Enzo," Elena was saying with a roll of her eyes.

"Caroline, I can't live without you," Enzo was saying as he wrapped his arms around Caroline and began to weep.

"Dear, God, man. Pull it together. It's a party," Kol thundered as he came to stand with their little group. "Eat. Drink. And be merry," he encouraged them. "For tomorrow our patients might die. Or at least if these little murderers have anything to do with it." Laughing his head off, Kol pointed at the interns that he saw before turning around and falling to the ground.

"Think he had too much," Enzo muttered before laughing at Kol's prone body. "Somebody get a doctor to see if he's alive."

"Most of us are doctors, you bloody fool," Rebekah snapped at the drunken man.

Hayley sighed as she extracted herself from the chaos and headed toward the kitchen. She was tired of her party already. Not that it had ever been her party. Entering the room, she found Aiden who was sitting at the dining table with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. "Hello, Santa," she greeted the nurse who grinned back at her.

"Cookie?" Aiden inquired, holding up the plate. Taking a chocolate chip one, Hayley sat down beside Aiden and stared at her food. "Not having a merry Christmas?" he asked with upraised eyebrows and a kind smile.

"No, this party pretty much blows," Hayley told him honestly. Shaking her head, she sighed. "I wish that this were just a simple get together. Not this thing with all kinds of people that I've barely even met, let alone spoken to for more than five minutes."

"So why don't you just ditch the party and have your own celebration?" Aiden asked her. 'Or you could just throw people out."

Smiling wanly, Hayley took a bite of her cookie. She would love to escape this nonsense that her roommate had created or, at the very least, to throw everyone out. This is her house. Why should she be held hostage to the whims of people that she had only met five months ago? Nope. Not going to happen. Making up her mind, Hayley got to her feet. "Thanks for the advice, Aiden," she said with a smile, patting him on the shoulder.

"Anytime," Aiden replied as he returned to his cookies.

Marching into the living room, Hayley looked around herself. She was trying to decide where to begin Seeing Dr. Bennett talking to Genevieve while Kol danced around the two, she nixed that idea. Piss off two of her bosses and a woman who still thought she was an idiot, not really something she wanted to do tonight. Seeing Klaus, Hayley narrowed her eyes. She would love to throw him out on his behind but he would make her suffer after. Throwing out her roommates didn't seem like a likely option. Damon and Elena were not on the short list. Then Cami and Sophie Deveroux walked in with bottles of alcohol. They were too nice to throw out. 'Damn it!' Hayley thought silently when she noticed one person that she could get rid of - Caroline's ex-boyfriend who did not seem to be taking the hint.

Heading toward Enzo, Hayley stopped in front of the unwanted guest. "Excuse me," Hayley called but he didn't seem to hear because he was too busy staring at Caroline who was talking to Rebekah, Tyler, Jackson, Damon and Elena. "Enzo!" Hayley called, louder this time while tapping on his shoulder until her he turned to smirk down at her.

"Hello, lovely lady. Sorry, but I'm taken by that wonderful woman over yonder," Enzo told her while breathing out high quantities of bourbon.

Taking a step backwards, Hayley folded her arms over her chest. "Sorry, but I'm not interested and you need to leave."

"Why would I do that?" Enzo inquired with an unfriendly glint in his eye while the smirk remained on his face.

"Because this is my house and I'm asking you nicely," Hayley told him with a smile of her own.

"Well, you see I would but I haven't been able to have a proper chat with my girlfriend yet. So, if you want to be a good little lass and fetch me another drink…" Smiling widely, the jerk just stood there like this was the 50s or something.

"Excuse me. Is there a problem here?" Elijah asked with that tone that told anyone with common sense that he was about to tell someone off. Hayley was relieved as he stood beside her with his arms folded.

"No problem, mate," Enzo told him. "Enjoying the party? There seems to be a problem with the hostess. She doesn't know how to entertain her guests. Got any suggestions on how to deal with that?"

"Yes. One. That she kicks your drunken ass out her front door. However, she is too much of a lady to do so. Thank goodness she has me around to take out the garbage for her," Elijah said quietly before taking Enzo by the arm and propelling him toward the door.

"Get off me," Enzo shouted angrily as Damon and most of the guests turned to look at the scene.

Damon came over to take ahold of Enzo's other arm. "It's okay. I'll get him out of your hair," Damon told them with smile. "Hey, buddy. I think that you've had a little too much to drink."

"Off me, Dam-on. Don't need this. Got to talk to Car-o-li-on," Enzo slurred as he tried to push his friend away, turning he ran into Elijah. "Get out the way, mate," he snarled.

"I think that you should leave," Klaus snapped, glaring at Enzo as he came to stand on Elijah's other side.

Coming to join the group, Caroline looked disappointed. "Enzo. Please, just go home," she pleaded. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"No, ya won't. You don't answer my mess-ages," Enzo groaned. "Just give me a kiss for Christmas," trying to reach for Caroline, Enzo found himself in front of Klaus who had moved in front of Caroline.

"She doesn't want you here," Klaus growled.

"Are you shagging this wanker?" Enzo yelled at Caroline furiously. "You're shagging my bloody girl. You sodding bastard. I'll kill you!"

"Enzo, he's my boss," Caroline protested.

Enzo laughed bitterly. "You're shagging your boss? Right then. Maybe I should have gone to medical school."

"Leave!" Klaus yelled as Enzo balled up his fist. When Elijah tried to reach out to pull Enzo toward the door, Enzo reared back. Dodging the blow, Elijah blocked Hayley from the violence when Enzo's fist collided with Klaus' jaw. Gritting his teeth, Klaus yelled before leaping toward Enzo and the two went flying. Hayley stared in horror as they crashed through the window close by.

"Shit," Caroline screamed before running outside. Klaus was sitting up with splinters of glass poking out from his wrist while Enzo had blood running out from his head. "Oh, my God."

"Don't move him!" Elijah ordered anyone who was outside looking at Enzo. "Hayley, get some towels," he yelled. She turned and ran back inside the house. When she returned, she found Elijah on his hands and knees speaking to a dispatcher. "Yes. Thank you." Hanging up, Elijah pressed the towels carefully around the wound. "I can't find the entrance of the wound," he muttered.

"Is anyone going to help out with this?" Klaus shouted as people stared at the piece of glass sticking out of his arm. "You people are supposed to be bloody health professionals." When Aiden came over to take a look at the injury, he calmed down.

"We're going to have to move him very carefully," Elijah told the paramedics when they arrived minutes later. Hayley wondered if they had been in the neighborhood in anticipation of something like this happening. Watching Elijah get into the back of the ambulance, Hayley felt a pang of envy. She would love to be able to operate for Christmas. "Hayley, come," he shouted. He didn't have to tell her twice.

Once they entered the hospital Hayley noticed that things seemed to have been calming down. "Hey, did I miss all the action?" Josh called with a smile when he noticed that Hayley was hurrying by with the stretcher. "I was just headed home."

"If you hurry you might be able to get something to eat," Hayley told him.

"It's all your fault," Caroline yelled as she entered the hospital. She was yelling at Klaus who looked angry as he walked into the lobby with Aiden telling him to stop swinging his arm around.

"He's bloody pissed," Rebekah stated loudly.

"I know he's pissed off. But if he had just let Elijah handle it," Caroline complained.

"No, not that kind of pissed. He's drunk," Rebekah snapped with a roll of her eyes.

Hayley did not have much more time to listen as they moved the stretcher out of the lobby and toward an elevator shaft. "Get out of the way," Elijah thundered at anyone who was obstructing the path. The minute they were in the elevator, he sighed heavily. "Ready to help with your first surgery?" he asked Hayley. Oh, yes. That was the best gift that he could give her since all she had been able to do in the OR so far was to observe.

"Of course. Yes," Hayley told him.

When they exited the elevator, Mikael was waiting for them. "What is this that I hear Niklaus has gotten himself into more trouble?" Mikael asked as he entered the scrub room to wash up.

"Nothing that can't wait, Father," Elijah said warily.

"And what were you doing going to a party when you should have been here?" Mikael snapped at his son. "You haven't been drinking, have you?" he demanded.

"No, Father," Elijah replied drily.

"And you?" Mikael snapped at Hayley.

"No, sir," Hayley told him, feeling uneasy as she stood allowing nurses to pull scrubs over her clothes as well as a surgical mask. Grabbing a bar of soap, she feared that Mikael would tell her she could not operate when his pager went off.

"I have to go. Try to not kill the man," Mikael said before he exited the room.

When they were done scrubbing their hands, Elijah led Hayley into the OR with a grin. "Ready?"

"As ever," Hayley breathed with a grin. Santa gave her a brain surgery for Christmas and she could not be happier.

**Thank you to everyone who has faved, followed, read and/or reviewed this story. **

**Answers to reviews: **

**Guest: Those are good questions. There were few months that passed between chapter 11 and 13 so there are things that happened like Klaus and Caroline started sneaking around although they're not as discrete as Elijah and Hayley. As for Mikael's age, that was Hayley's perception of how old he looked rather than his actual age. Some people appear younger, some older. Thank you and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, too.**

**Taylor: Thank you. Yes, I started with the idea of a Kennett storyline but then I fell for the Kolvina chemistry. I'm still trying to work out the details of when to bring D into the picture because this story incorporates some elements from Grey's but I didn't want to try to simply rewrite the show. Where's the fun in that? I'll think of something. **

**Guest: Thank you. I promise that there will be more Rebel in the next chapter. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello, my lovely readers. Okay, so this story is one of my own personal favorites and I kind of got stuck and then they killed McDreamy. No! So, in case anyone is curious. Elijah will NOT die in this fic or in any possible sequel/series springing from this fic. On with the show…**

Chapter 14: All Hearts and Some Cupcakes

Hayley did not believe that anything could really top the festivities of Christmas. That was because this was her first time working the night shift on Valentine's. As it turned out, Valentine's was a day filled with hearts, flowers, candies, hurt feelings and injuries. There had been ten traumas through the emergency room. Five surgeries performed by five Mikaelsons (including Chief Mikael) and one by Marcel. And all the interns were running frantically from one end of the hospital to the other. Except for Hayley who had a very specific problem she was dealing with at this precise moment.

"Give me the scalpel, ma'am," she cried as the female patient waved the scalpel at her. The woman had been in an accident when she had hit a tree. They were waiting on a CT to see if she had received brain damage from the collision.

"I don't want to live!" the woman wailed, still waving the scalpel as Hayley tried to move closer but backed away when the patient tried to stab her. "Ricky left me. And I don't want to go through another Valentine's Day alone," she wailed loudly and Hayley felt her head began to pound.

"I understand. Valentine's is a hard holiday. But no one is worth hurting yourself over," Hayley tried to reason but the woman shook her head.

"I found," she gulped. "I found a ring in his sock drawer. But it wasn't for meeeee," she wailed.

"What is going on in here?" a voice demanded from behind Hayley and she had never been so relieved to see Jackson in her entire life. He was wearing set of pink scrubs that she would have to remember to tease him about later.

"Ricky left me," the woman moaned, shaking the scalpel at Jack who looked disturbed but quickly changed his expression to a more pleasant one. Smiling, he moved a step forward. "Hi, I'm Jack," he said and the woman sniffled, and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I'm Jane," she replied, her expression wary. "Can you go away? I want to be alone."

"Well, you seem lonely. I get it. I don't have a date tonight either," Jack said taking a tentative step toward Jane.

"Really?" Jane's lips quivered upward. "You don't look like someone who wouldn't have a date," she said with a laugh.

"You wouldn't believe how many women have turned me down. When you approach a woman after a forty-eight hour shift, in this," he gestured at his scrubs with a chuckle. "They aren't all that impressed."

"Oh, I don't know. You look kind of cute," Jane said and Hayley would have left the two alone if it weren't for Jane's holding tightly to a knife.

"Yeah, maybe after a long shower. I think someone vomited on my shoes. Can you imagine trying to go out for coffee and your date is like "What's that smell. Suddenly they have a mysterious call from a friend. It never fails." Jack said as he took another step toward Jane.

Jane's arm was easing downward to fall to her side. "I… don't know why Ricky would buy a ring for someone else. Wasn't I enough for him?" she asked as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Jane, Ricky obviously can't see what is clear for a whole world to see," Jack continued, taking another step so that he only had two more steps before he would be right in front of Jane.

"What's that?" Jane inquired, her eyes wide and blue.

"You're beautiful and I'm not just talking about physically. You glow," Jack said, taking the last step that separated them and reaching for the scalpel, never taking his eyes off of Jane's. Pulling the instrument from Jane's grasp, he handed it to Hayley and wrapped his arms around the sobbing woman.

"I didn't mean to run into the tree. I was just so sad. And then it was there. And… Oh, God. What was I thinking?" Jane continued to sob as Jack held her. Hayley quietly filled a syringe with something to put Jane out for a couple of hours. She walked around to Jane's back and slid the needle into the side of her neck. Jane looked surprised as she slipped into sleep but Hayley was relieved.

"You are a lifesaver," Hayley joked as Jack placed Jane on the bed and swept her hair out of her face.

"I try," he replied with a chuckle. "All I knew was that I could hear this poor woman shouting all the way down the hallway and then I came here and saw the scalpel."

"Yeah. You were a real hero. And I can't believe that story about the not having a date," Hayley chuckled as she checked Jane's vitals.

"That was true," Jack replied, looking at Hayley for a longer time than made her comfortable.

"Ummm. Yeah. Okay. But after that little performance I can guarantee you that you'll have a date within the hour. Women love a hot guy who helps people," Hayley said absently looking over the chart.

"You think I'm hot?" Jack asked, his voice teasing, or was he serious?

Hayley glanced up at him her mouth pursing when Rebekah appeared in the door. "Hayley, there you are. Caroline and I have been all over trying to find you."

"What's going on?" Hayley asked, her brow furrowing.

"There is a patient having quadruplets. But there's some kind of complications. So it's all hands on deck," Rebekah announced. "Come one. . . Nik is going to kill the lot of us if we don't get on it. And you," she snapped at Jackson. "Aren't on Nik's shift? What are you doing all the way over here?"

Jackson didn't have time to reply before Rebekah turned and was hurrying back down the hallway. Hayley had to run to catch up with her best friend. "Were you flirting with that man whore?" Rebekah was seething through clenched teeth, not bothering to look at Hayley.

"What? No!" Hayley replied.

"It looked like you were flirting when I arrived and Elijah has gone through enough with women breaking his heart," Rebekah snapped, throwing a door open and heading for the stairs.

"I would never break Elijah's heart," Hayley snapped back, feeling irritated. She was not sure that Elijah would not break hers though.

Stepping out the door and into the chaos of the maternity ward, Hayley and Rebekah had to step back as nurses went flying by them. "I guess, you're right, it is all hands on deck," Hayley quipped with raised eyebrows as she and Rebekah hurried after the nurses. They entered the scrub room to get ready as a haggard looking Marcel entered, tearing off his mask in disgust. The heart surgeon kicked a trash can, startling the interns.

"What's wrong?" Rebekah demanded, coming to stand beside Marcel who was holding his head as if he had a raging hangover.

"The mother. She's not going to make it," Marcel groaned, moving to grip a sink and then cursing loudly.

"Maybe there's something else you can try," Rebekah tried to soothe him, placing a hand on his back.

Marcel whipped around, glaring at Rebekah. "You're damned brother just kicked me out. How in the hell do you think I'm going to get anything done, huh?" he questioned Rebekah whose cheeks had reddened. Placing his hands on his hips, Marcel turned to glare at Klaus. "Look at Sage, she's about to pop her own kid and still she's in there with her hands deep in that poor woman's uterus, trying to save her babies."

"Cool off. Then tell Nik to bugger off; you're going to do your bloody job. And to hell with what he thinks," Rebekah snapped as she washed her hands, watching her brother. Klaus was taking an infant that a nurse passed to him, placing the baby inside an incubator and yelling at Caroline and Tyler to join him. Hayley recognized Aiden when she entered the room. He was giving Sage any instrument that she demanded. Spotting Hayley, Aiden nodded at her briefly while Josh stood to the side and watched with a look of awe.

"Okay, Rouza, take the baby," Sage ordered, holding out an impossibly tiny baby to the male intern who took the child carefully. "Do not drop her. So help me God, I will see you never work as a doctor ever again," the redhead growled as she removed another tiny baby. This time she held the child out to Hayley. "Marshall, this little guy is all yours," she told Hayley, whose heart fluttered.

Hayley took the baby as gently as she could while a nurse pointed out the area where she would clean the child. "He's not breathing," Hayley cried out to whoever was listening.

"Massage his chest. But watch yourself. They're only twenty-five weeks. You could break a rib far too easily," Klaus yelled from the other side of the room as the little girl he was working on's lungs went up and down while Caroline furiously pumped air into her tiny body. "There you go, love. Slow and steady," Klaus was saying as Caroline pushed the air bag with her index and middle finger, concentrating on the sounds from her stethoscope.

Pressing her fingers to the baby in her arms' chest, Hayley rubbed the skin, feeling how thin it was and wanting to cry. "Come, little guy. Its' your big day. And your sisters really want to meet you. Come on. Breath for my baby boy," she cooed to the child who had a bluish tint. After a long minute Hayley was sure they lost this one when he opened wide blue eyes, looking up at her before letting out a howl. "There you go. Let's get you cleaned up." Hayley said with a wide smile.

Klaus was smiling, too, when she turned to meet his gaze. "Good job, Marshall," he said. "Now, let's see if we can keep these people alive through the night. Each of you are in charge of the baby that you are holding," he proclaimed and Tyler grinned.

"Cool. That means, I can get out of here. I have a date tonight with a hot chick," the cocky intern announced until Klaus set his sights on him.

"Yes, you do. You're going to stay and check the vitals of the mother," Klaus snapped with a smile of this own.

"No way. That chick is dead, man," Tyler retorted with a glare.

That is when Marcel re-entered the room. "Not on my watch. I'm going to try to restart her heart again," he told everyone in the room. Klaus did not protest. Tyler was glowering at the two. Although only his eyes were visible Hayley just knew that was what he was doing.

"May I name mine?" Rebekah asked with a smile as she rocked the baby that Sage had given her.

"No, but you can name mine," Sage said. "Or my dinner. Whichever makes you happier. Does someone want to rub my feet?" she asked, heaving a sigh.

Everyone looked at each other except for Marcel and the nurses who were trying, desperately, to save the mother. "Finn can do that," Klaus told her, patting her on the back. "Let's go tell my brother that we saved four cute babies. Then we tell Father. He'll be so thrilled for the press release." The two Mikaelsons left the room while Rebekah, Caroline, Hayley and Josh rolled their charges down to the NICU.

"You think that someone could go downstairs and get us some caffeine?" Caroline asked with a yawn. It was already eleven when she asked her question.

Rebekah nodded warily, looking at the sleeping baby. "Nik sure does know how to ruin one's holiday, doesn't he?"

"I don't know. I kind of like hanging out with them," Josh said, watching the baby girl that he was in charge of take his finger and closing her eyes. "They're really cute."

"Did anyone get word on how the mom's doing?" Hayley asked, running a hand through her hair. She needed a shower but she knew by now to not piss Klaus off.

"No," Rebekah replied, shaking her head. "Maybe Tyler will come down and tell us. I'm sure of one thing. If Marcel had lost her Tyler would have been down here by now, gloating about how he was finally free."

Getting up from her seat, Caroline stretched. "Well, I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and get some snacks and drinks. Klaus can't think we're just going to sit here all night long. Because if he does, he's nuts," she was saying when Hayley's eyes grew wide. She would have signaled to Caroline but the blonde's own eyes were growing in size, too. She must have smelled him behind her.

"Ahem, I must be hard of hearing today. Or did you just question my authority, Forbes?" Klaus snapped, stepping into the room with his arms crossed.

Crossing her own arms over her chest, Caroline glared at Klaus. "You're not going to keep us hostage up here. We have a right to leave. For one thing, I need to pee."

"Then do," Klaus replied with a smirk. "I can recommend that the next time you have to stand during a seventy-two hour surgery that you put on a diaper. If not, you might want to find a new line of work since you obviously have control issues, of the physical type."

"Control issues," the blonde yelled causing all four babies to wake and begin to cry. "You're the one with lack of control issues, buddy," she continued, poking him in the chest with an index finger.

"Well, I was wondering where all the interns had been. Now, I see," an amused Elijah stated as he leaned against the doorframe. "Niklaus, you know that they have other places to be, yes?"

Klaus rolled his eyes toward his brother with a wide smirk. "Just punishing the recruits, again. They do so love to misbehave," he uttered with a long look at each of the interns. "You may have whichever of them that you'd like," he added.

Elijah nodded and looked at Hayley who smiled. Josh was not as happy when Elijah nodded at him. Rebekah was on her feet without bothering to wait for Elijah. "Kol told me he might need me for some research."

Klaus did not say a word until Caroline tried to leave. He barred the door with his arm. "You're staying."

"Alone? With all four of them?" Caroline protested with wide eyes.

"You'll have the nurses to keep you company," Klaus said as he was walking out behind his sister.

"I will get you something to eat," Hayley called to the defeated blonde, sitting back down beside an incubator.

"And don't forget the diaper, for the baby," Klaus added as Hayley glared at him wordlessly.

Elijah took Hayley by the arm and pulled her down the hall before she could tell Klaus off for being a world class prick. Just because there had been that whole confusion with Caroline's ex during the Christmas party didn't mean he had right to treat her like crap. "What is wrong with him?" Hayley asked Elijah who seemed deep in thought.

"Who?" Elijah inquired with a smile.

"Klaus. He's being a bigger ass than usual," Hayley explained, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, that… This holiday is not one of his favorites. Nor mine, if truth be told. But we suffer through it," Elijah's eyes slipped to the floor and Hayley felt as if he had just slammed a door in her face. After the last couple of months, she felt like they had been getting closer. Then, all of a sudden, Elijah would retreat from her like he thought she was going to… Hell, she had no idea what made his walls come down like that. She knew that she had her own walls, but his were like an iron fortresses.

"Okay," Hayley tried to laugh this off. "Did you get word on how the mother of the babies are?" she asked.

Finally, Elijah's expression cleared and he pursed his lips in thought. "Yes, the last time I heard word of her condition I was told that she had slipped into a coma. Right now, it is touch and go. Tyler Lockwood is staying with her. Apparently he was attempting to read Vogue to her when Genevieve checked up on him. She seemed to find that amusing."

Hayley smiled at the thought of Tyler actually trying to do something nice. More than likely, he was trying to entertain himself. He would be falling asleep on the couch in the room and when visiting hours rolled around, there would be a complaint from the woman's family. Another headache for Chief Mikael to deal with. Another joke for the interns to use against Tyler.

"Did you want to get a bite to eat?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah," Hayley said, placing her hand over her mouth to cover a yawn. "I'm going to grab a Starbucks mocha and a sandwich for Care so she doesn't starve while Klaus berates her."

"What was that joke about a diaper?" Elijah asked Hayley as they got inside the elevator.

"Klaus was being an ass because Caroline had to use the bathroom," Hayley told him with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh, that's funny coming from him," Elijah replied, hitting the button for the first floor.

"Why?" Hayley asked as they got off the elevator.

"Because Klaus once peed himself during a seventy-two hour surgery. It was Kol's fault. He had gotten Klaus thoroughly drunk the night before and filled him full of coffee the next day. Then he kept cracking jokes during the surgery. The worst part was our father was in performing the operation. He tore them both a new hole in his office. You could hear him all the way up and down the hall. And that is where Klaus got the nickname, Dr. Depends."

"Dr. Depends," Hayley laughed in spite of how childish the joke was. "Oh, my God."

"Do not tell him I told you that. He will have my head," Elijah ordered Hayley as they took their place in the line and he grabbed a cupcake with a candy heart that said "I love you" on top. Placing it on his tray, he watched as Hayley picked up one that said "Kiss me," he smiled as they paid for their items before making their way out. Elijah ended up placing everything on Hayley's tray on his and she had no idea why but went with it.

Seconds after climbing into another elevator, Hayley hit the button and was pleasantly surprised when Elijah held the tray to the side while looping his free arm around her waist. "I love you, Hayley," he said quietly.

"Kiss me, Elijah," Hayley breathed and he did. This was probably the best Valentine's Day that Hayley had had. Ever. Even the part where they went into the NICU and sat with Caroline and four babies who were still struggling to survive. Hayley could not have picked a better place to be as she watched Elijah with a smile as Caroline complained about Klaus and the monitors beeped in the background because she was in love.

**Thank you all so much for reading. I know that last year was really tough for us, Haylijah shippers, but I will not give up on this fic or fandom. Nope. Not going to happen. I will sink with the ship. **

**Thanks for reading, faving, following and for reviewing. **

**Magnolia123: Thank you. Your support would mean a lot to me. I did finish writing the book but I'm in the process of editing it. Hopefully, it will be out in early September, if not before. I will definitely let you know. **

**Guest: Thank you. I hope you liked the Rebel. I know that there are so few fics about them. But they do appear in one of my stories under the TVD tab. It's called "Summer of '15." It also includes Haylijah, Klaroline, Delena and possibly Stefan and Freya. I'm playing with that couple right now. **

**Isabel Guab: I posted the prologue of "Love or Loyalty" around the time that you asked about it. **

**Sammiewolf: I know but Hayley loves brains. Ha. Makes her sound like a zombie. Maybe I'll have a Halloween chapter where she dresses up as an extra from **_**The**__**Walking**__**Dead**_**. **

**Taylor: Davina will not come in with a terminal disease. I would not do that to her or to you. I love the character too much. If any of the main cast get sick, a miracle doctor will appear from the ether to cure them with their magical touch. **

**Guest: Yes, they all seem perfect, but then life gets in the way. It wouldn't be a Grey's inspired TO fic without heaping dramatic moments, with humor to lighten things up. Too much drama can make you feel sick. Yup, Klaroline and Haylijah will have their ups and downs and then really downs. But somehow, they'll "make it work" as Tim Gunn says. **

**Hannie597: Thank you. **

**Mursini: I will continue to write this story until I can see it winding up. Then there might be a follow up. It depends whether I'm paying my rent next year. :/**

**Silver-Infinite: It's here. I'm sorry about the delay. The last season of **_**TO**_** and **_**Grey's**_** threw me off a bit, plus the book and writer's block. It just was not a good six-seven months and I've been trying to play catch up without giving myself one of those brain crushing headaches. **

**Peace,**

**Jessica**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15: Death in Threes: Part I

Bonnie Bennett was counting on her fingers and looking suspiciously at her interns who were trying to look like they weren't afraid of her. Really. They weren't afraid at all. Not even a little bit. Hayley stood beside Rebekah with a cup of coffee in hand, hoping she didn't have sex hair after a wild romp in the broom closet before rounds. And Rebekah was checking the halls for her father who was on the war path. Yes, they were the picture of calm.

"Lockwood!" Dr. Bennett suddenly shouted and Tyler jumped before straightening up.

"Yes!" he replied and almost saluted, causing Josh to chuckle and Caroline to grin.

"You're going to be following Dr. Gerard around today. Try not to kill any of his patients," she snapped with a weary look directed at Tyler.

"Will do," Tyler replied with a grin. When Dr. Bennett frowned at him, he corrected himself. "I mean, I won't. I mean… I will follow. No killing. Bye," Tyler scrambled away and Rebekah smirked after him.

"What are you smirking about Mikaelson. Just because your daddy runs this place doesn't make you any less likely to kill someone than Lockwood. Hell, you're probably more likely to because of that swelled head of yours. Now go help your Dr. de Martel deliver some babies while your sister-in-law is at home taking care of her own. Now!"

"Rouza, you're with Kol Mikaelson today," Dr. Bennett announced and Josh looked relieved.

"That leaves you two," Dr. Bennett looked from Hayley to Caroline. "You," she snapped at Caroline. "You're on Klaus Mikaelson's shift," she told Caroline, who paled.

"Can't I follow you?" Caroline begged and Bonnie's eyebrows rose.

"He requested you. And he's my boss. I don't want to tell him, so if you want on my shift, I would suggest you find him and tell him yourself," Dr. Bennett replied calmly with a smirk at the blonde who deflated.

"And, Marshall, you are on Elijah's shift, again. I have my eye on you," Dr. Bennett waved her finger between her eyes and Hayley's and made her stomach flip over. Yeah. This was just great. Now Dr. Bennett had decided that Hayley was a screw up.

Trudging off, Hayley smiled when she caught sight of Jackson. It was nice to see a friendly face around here that she didn't live with. "Hey, Jack, what's up?" she teased her fellow intern who looked like he was swimming beneath a stack of files.

"Oh, nothing. Just finishing up some charts for Klaus. He's a real jackass," Jackson replied with a grin. "Want to get a cup of coffee when I get done here?"

"Oh, I would but I have to find Elijah. Maybe later," Hayley called with a wave as she ran off. That could become a problem later on down the line. But she would deal with Jack when the time came. Until then she was going to enjoy her time with Elijah uninterrupted. Or so she thought.

Unfortunately for Hayley when she entered Elijah's office she realized that they would not be alone. His father was there, too. "Dr. Marshall, so good of you to grace us with your presence. Were we keeping you from more pressing matters?" Mikael inquired with a biting smile.

Hayley forced herself to not let him have it. Mikael had turned out to be her worst nightmare as a boss. He did not think that they needed to go on breaks. That lunch time should be spent reading any new research they could get their hands on. He even had his assistant call them at the house to make sure that they understood that if they did not pass their exams at the end of the year, they would be out of the program which meant that they would be having oral exams every day for the next six months.

Waiting for Mikael to start in with one of his now infamous oral pop quizzes, Hayley braced herself. "No, sir. I was just wondering if there are any bedpans I can clean." She could kick herself for having blurted that out.

For a moment there was dead silence when Mikael suddenly chuckled. "Aw, you have a sense of humor. Good for you. Let's see how long it lasts when you've killed as many patients as my son, Elijah, has."

Elijah's mouth twisted at his father's words and Hayley saw his entire body stiffen. What kind of father would say something like that about their child? Elijah was a doctor. Mikael should know that you couldn't save everyone no matter how hard you tried. No one was so good they never lost a patient. "Yes, father. Thank you for the reminder." Elijah said drily.

"Well, we must not forget our mistakes, lest we repeat them," Mikael shook his head as he looked from Elijah to Hayley. "Now, I am here to discuss a case that involves one of our board members. It must not go outside of these four walls. Do you both understand?"

"Yes," Elijah and Hayley replied.

"Good. Then we might begin," Mikael stated. "This is a rather complicated case in which your patient has contracted an STD which has entered his nervous system and traveled to his brain."

Hayley's eyes widened slightly but she knew not to utter a word rather than cause Mikael to throw her off the case. "And you want us to do what about that?" Elijah spoke up with a frown, leaning against the desk with a mild look of amusement directed at his father.

"Is something funny to you, Elijah? A man's life is at stake here," Mikael snapped, taking a seat at his son's desk and steepling his fingers under his chin.

"No, I don't think it's funny, father. I'm simply confused about what it is, exactly, you want me to do for this man. I'm assuming that this is an untreated case of syphilis that has traveled to his brain. And you know as well as I that once the disease has spread that far that there is no cure. Therefore I'm not sure what you want me to do: hold his hand, give him false hope or to fill him with drugs that do not work?"

"Elijah," Mikael growled out. "You are at the top of your field. People come to you because you have done the impossible before. And if the bloody man asks for hope, then give him his blasted hope!" The chief was now on his feet, his cheeks flaming red and his lips spread back in a sneer. "Sometimes I wonder how you got to where you are," he muttered with a shake of his head before walking out of the office.

"Okay. That could have gone a lot better, don't ya think?" Hayley asked drily with her arms folded over her chest, her gaze lingering on the closed door.

"Yes. Quiet," Elijah replied as he took his seat and stared at his blank computer screen, his eyebrows scrunching. Hayley knew that look. That was Elijah's "I'm trying to perform a miracle here" look which meant that she might be witnessing history today. Forcing herself not to do a happy dance because a) if would distract Elijah and b) because she wasn't going to dance in her scrubs in front of her boyfriend. Maybe a low pair of jeans or a tight skirt.

Feeling herself drifting off into fantasy land, Hayley only snapped out of it when Elijah jumped out of his chair. He rounded the desk and headed toward the door, grabbing his lab coat on the way. "Where are we going?" Hayley called as she quickened her pace to keep up with Elijah whose face was a mask of concentration.

"We're going to save a man's life. Or we're going to fail miserably. Whichever one comes first," Elijah quipped, his eyes glowing with glee when he smiled down at her.

Smiling, Hayley walked to the elevator and caught sight of Rebekah who looked glum as she came down the hall with a stack of paper work. "What you two looking so chipper about?" Rebekah snapped at the couple, her eyes narrowing. "It's not sex, is it? If it is, I don't need to know. I hear enough about Nik's and Kol's."

"Not sex. But we can't tell you. Sorry, Bekah," Hayley told her friend who glared at her.

"It's a surgery, isn't it? It's a brilliant surgery and I'm stuck doing father's grunt work! Tell me that you'll get father to let me help, Elijah! Please?! I can't do this all day!" Rebekah begged, placing the files against her hip.

"Sorry, Rebekah. Father handpicked the two of us," Elijah told his sister with a look of sympathy as the elevator doors slid open and he walked inside. "Hayley, are you coming?"

"I hate you. Both!" Rebekah called after them while Hayley entered the elevator and watched Rebekah disappear as the doors slid closed.

"She took that well, didn't she?" Hayley joked. She felt bad for Rebekah because she would feel the same way if she was left out of an awesome case. But Rebekah wasn't on Elijah's shift and there was no way that Hayley was giving up this teaching opportunity. There would be others and Rebekah would get her share.

"Yes. Well Rebekah needs to earn her spot like all of you," Elijah replied, pulling out his phone and checking it with a frown before placing it back in his pocket.

"Something wrong?" Hayley asked, Elijah whose expression had closed off.

"No. Nothing to worry yourself about," Elijah retorted a little too quickly with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and for once Hayley felt like he was shutting her out from something. Hugging herself, she followed him out of the elevator and down the hallway.

Soon they were in a massive room which Hayley had never been in. The place must cost at least several thousand a day or more. _So_ _this_ _was_ _what_ _it_ _like_ _to_ _be rich_ _and_ _powerful_, Hayley mused to herself while Elijah grabbed the chart from the end of the bed.

"Hello, Mr. Branson," Elijah greeted the man on the bed with a wide grin and his usual friendly bedside manner. "It seems that you have a… problem that has located itself in your brain," he said calmly.

"You don't have to mince words with me, Elijah. I contracted syph and it's now in my brain. I know what the prognosis is, too. I… I was just hoping that there was a way to delay the… my dying. There are things I need to attend to. Last minute issues." The man, Mr. Branson, looked at his hands for a long time before looking back at Elijah. "I just want you to buy me a week, a month. Something. A couple of days even."

"I assure you, Mr. Branson, I will do everything within my power to help you in any way that I can," Elijah replied solemnly.

"Thank you. I know that you're the best. Otherwise I would have gone somewhere else," Mr. Branson joked, but his tone was bitter as he looked out the window. "Who the hell can't realize they have a venereal disease?"

"It happens," Hayley told him with what she hoped was a comforting smile.

"And who are you?" Mr. Branson asked.

"Hayley Marshall," Hayley replied with a feeling of apprehension when Mr. Branson scoffed.

"Marshall, I've heard that name before. But not a Hayley. What year are you in?" he asked sharply.

"She's a first year intern," Elijah answered for her.

"First year?" Mr. Branson laughed. "And what would a first year know about anything? Do you even know a scalpel from a clamp?" he snapped and Hayley narrowed her eyes at him. Oh, so dying meant he could be a jackass. How nice for him.

"Mr. Branson. Hayley is going to be assisting me in researching anyway that we can save your life. Now, if you would like her to be of any use to you, you might try to be a little kinder," Elijah snapped at the man in the bed who laughed at him.

"I'm dying. Why should I sugar coat what I have to say to her? She's going to run around this hospital, trying, in vain, to find a cure that does not exist, frustrating herself and costing me and other patients who might live, her skills. What skills she might have right now," Mr. Branson stopped talking and then turned on the TV. "Now, if you don't mind. There's a golf game and I would rather be watching that then having this conversation. Just find a way to give me that time I asked for Elijah."

"Right," Elijah sighed, slapping the chart closed with one hand and then walking out of the room. He headed down the hall with Hayley by his side. "He's not always like that," he offered when they were in front of the elevator doors. "And he's not just a member of the board," he added on their way into the elevator.

"Oh," Hayley had no idea how to respond.

"He's an old friend of my mother's. They went to school together and have stayed connected off and on over the years. Father is not very fond of their relationship but now that Branson is dying he seems to be… in a more forgiving mood."

"Forgiving?" Hayley's lips pursed.

"Mr. Branson is Klaus' father," Elijah told Hayley whose eyes widened.

"Say what now?" Hayley could not believe her ears. "Does Klaus know?"

"Yes, he's the one who figured it out one day when he caught the two of them after a function, here, at the hospital. After that Niklaus became obsessed with the idea that the man was his father. None of us wanted to believe it, but Klaus being Klaus, conducted a DNA test and confirmed the truth."

"Oh, my God. How did your dad react?" Hayley asked.

"Oh, in typical Mikaelson fashion. He beat Mr. Branson senseless in the hospital lobby in front of a group of interns. Father was lucky that Mr. Branson did not press charges. But I'm not sure how lucky father feels. Nor Klaus." Elijah finished his story as they exited the elevator.

"Do you think," Hayley began, stopping herself when they moved past the nurse's station. "Do you think that Mr. Branson told Klaus that he's dying yet?"

"No. Most likely not. That is probably why he wants the extra time. Although I'm not sure he's going to get the reaction he desires from Klaus. Ever since he found out, he has been distant toward the man, preferring our father's company and attempting to distance himself as much as possible from his own."

"Wow. That sounds like a whole lot of drama," Hayley let out a laugh. "And I thought I had some weird stuff with my not knowing who my birth parents are."

Elijah's head whipped around at Hayley's declaration and she could have shot herself for having spoken up. Ugh! "Your birth parents? You mean that your parents were not the Marshalls?"

"Nope. They weren't. They adopted me as a baby and they gave me a roof over my head, three square meals and the desire to go into medicine." Hayley nodded her head, avoiding looking Elijah in the eyes as she spoke.

"Really?" Elijah's tone had softened and she looked up at him with a teasing smile.

"You know, Elijah, it doesn't change anything else about me. I'm still the same person," Hayley chuckled when Elijah let out a laugh.

"Yes, you are quite right. You are the same brilliant young woman; I would just like to meet the people who brought you into the world so that I may thank them for the gift that they have given me," Elijah said quietly and Hayley felt like her face would split from the grin that spread across her face.

"You think that we could go to the on-call room for awhile before we start on the research?" Hayley asked, feeling mischievous.

"Yes. But only for a little while. We need to look at some articles I was thinking about earlier. There might be a drug that is in the early stages that could help Branson for at least a month or two," Elijah was saying on their way into the on-call room.

"Which is all that he's asking for," Hayley replied while yanking Elijah's tie off.

"Yes. It is," Elijah muttered into her hair.

Hayley really did love the on-call room. Especially when Elijah was running his hands over her legs and trailing kisses down her torso. She loved this hospital so much she could not think of a single reason that she should leave, ever. It had everything: food, shelter, a hot man that made her groan and tremble. There was really nothing more she could want. Maybe she should move in here and leave her mother's house to her roommates.

At some point Hayley wanted to leave the on-call room so that she and Elijah could start on the researching. Elijah downloaded the files and they both sat reading them, drinking cups of coffee and making notes. It felt like domestic bliss, they were so in-sync. "Okay, so this drug might work," Hayley said, shoving the article under Elijah's nose.

Elijah took a look at the article and began to read it. He was silent for a moment before his lips spread into a wide grin. "Hayley, you are a genius," he cried, leaning over the desk to kiss her for a long moment. "Let's go," he headed for the door while Hayley grabbed the article.

They arrived in Mr. Branson's room where the man was sitting, staring out the window with an unhappy look on his face. "Mr. Branson. We have good news for you," Elijah called cheerfully.

"Oh, goody," Mr. Branson sighed before forcing a smile. "What have you got?"

Elijah turned to Hayley who looked at him with wide eyes. "Okay. We have a drug that just came out in the last three months. It's not a miracle drug. But it will give you the time that you asked for. Here's a copy of the article." She offered it to Mr. Branson whose eyebrows rose but he took the article. Putting on a pair of glasses, he began to read and then nodded his head.

"Okay. When can we start the treatment?" Mr. Branson asked, looking from Elijah to Hayley.

"We can begin as soon as we have the drug. I'll make an order for it right away and with any hope we should be administering it as soon as tomorrow," Elijah said. "And you can thank Dr. Marshall for finding this study."

Mr. Branson looked to Hayley who was gnawing at her lower lip. "Yes. Thank you, doctor. Perhaps I rushed to judgment."

"You're welcome," Hayley replied with a wide smile. This day was just getting better.

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing. **

**Answers to guest reviews: **

**Guest: Thank you. **

**Guest: Thank you and you're welcome. I love Rebel and I hope to see them again sometime this season. **

**Guest: Thank you! **

**Peace, **

**Jessica**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello, my lovely readers. It's time for part II: humor and some happiness for our heroine ahead. On with the show…**

Chapter 16: Death Comes in Threes: Part II

All of the interns were scattered throughout the hospital. Hayley was having one of, if not, the best day of her intern career. The same could not be said for her friends. Rebekah stood at a desk filing another report while Genevieve sat across from her eating crackers and texting a random guy she met. Josh had missed a stitch and Kol cussed him out. Tyler had not been allowed to come near Marcel's patient in the OR because he had sneezed on the way in and was stuck in the observation deck. And Caroline, Klaus had her cleaning up kiddy vomit.

Walking down the hallway, on the way to lunch, Hayley ran into Jackson. "Hey, you still too busy for coffee?" Jack inquired, walking backwards and running into Genevieve's chair. "Oops."

"Do it again, Kenner," Genevieve snapped, narrowing her blue eyes at him in a I-will-get-you look.

"She secretly loves me," Jack told Hayley whose eyebrows rose before she let out a laugh.

"Sure she does. And I'm sure she'll show you how much when she has you giving a thousand vaccinations next month," Hayley retorted with a laugh. Seeing Caroline coming down the hall with a miserable look on her face, Hayley waved. "Hey, Care. Nice look. And smell," she wrinkled her nose while Caroline lifted her scrub shirt to her nose and sniffed.

"Damn, Klaus," Caroline moaned. "Baby vomit," she said, pointing at the stain on her shirt.

"They'll get you every time," Jack quipped with an easy grin.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Tell me that you'll trade. Rumor has it you have a big secret surgery or something cool. If you trade, I will make you muffins for the next month."

"You make muffins anyway," Hayley replied, beginning to walk away. She turned to Jack. "She makes muffins every morning and looks like that. It is disgusting."

"It is called yoga. It will calm your nerves. And I can make diet muffins that have half the calories but taste like the real deal," Caroline offered, holding her hands together in a pleading manner. "Please. I can't keep doing this."

"Trade with Bekah. But don't tell her what it is she'll be doing," Hayley suggested when Caroline cheered and started to hurry off. "And change your shirt first so she won't detect a bad deal," she yelled after the blonde.

"Already on it," Caroline shouted back.

"Where is my intern going?" Klaus demanded on his way past Hayley and Jack. He frowned at Hayley while she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"She's going to H. R. to file a sexual harassment claim against you," Hayley told him.

Klaus paled before muttering, "Not again," and hurrying off.

Laughing, Hayley headed up the stairs to the cafeteria. "That was far too easy."

"You don't like him much, do you?" Jack inquired with a wide smile.

"Do you?" Hayley asked him. "I thought you said he was a jackass."

"I did. You know what, I think he forgot I was on his shift. I would be hurt if he weren't such a dick." Jack shrugged, opening a door and waving for her to go inside. Entering the room they found it packed to capacity. "Maybe we should hit the coffee cart?" he asked and Hayley nodded. They turned and headed back down the stairs.

Elijah was heading toward them and when he spotted Hayley he grinned. "Dr. Marshall, I was just headed up to get a cup of coffee. Care to join me so we might talk about our case?" he asked her, leaning against the railing.

"She's getting coffee with me, but if you want to wait for about twenty minutes, she'll be free to work," Jack replied for Hayley who frowned. She hated when guys did that to women.

"Jack, I really need to get in as much time as possible with Elijah. This is ground-breaking work we're doing. We can do coffee some other time," Hayley explained quickly, watching Jack stiffen.

"Sure, Whatever you say, Hayley," he ran down the stairs and Hayley watched him go. She felt bad but her career meant a lot to her. He should understand that she had to seize these moments.

"Well, that is interesting," Elijah muttered with a smile.

"What's interesting?" Hayley asked, coming to stand in front of him with a flirty smile.

"I think young Dr. Kenner has a crush on you, Hayley," Elijah teased with a grin. He looked around and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him, firmly. "Will I have to fight him for your love?" he whispered into her ear before pulling back and kissing her.

"Hmm… Not if you keep doing that, Dr. Mikaelson," Hayley murmured when he moved backwards to look her in the eye. "Let's get that coffee before we run into anyone else who might want something."

"Hayley!" Tyler yelled, coming out of the cafeteria. "Can I switch shifts with you? I'm not getting anywhere with Marcel. I sneeze, once, and I'm grounded the entire shift. Oh, hey, Dr. Mikaelson. Can I join you guys?"

Elijah looked at Hayley who shrugged. "I suppose that we could use an extra pair of hands," he told Tyler. Tyler let out a whoop that made Elijah frown. "Just don't do that in front of my patients or Dr. Gerard will look like the Easter Bunny compared to what I will do to you."

"It's cool, man. I'm in control," Tyler nodded, calming down until Elijah turned his back and then he grabbed Hayley, grinning like someone from the psych ward. "This is so cool," Tyler whispered. "So, what's the miracle case?" he asked them.

"A patient in the end stages of syphilis," Elijah retorted, giving Tyler a long look.

Shaking his head, Tyler groaned. "Man, he's dead. How is that going to be a good case. I'm going back to Gerard."

"We're going to try a new drug on him that's only been tested in Stockholm," Hayley informed Tyler whose eyebrows shot up.

"Now, we're getting somewhere. So, what's it do? Make him puke and bark like a dog?" Tyler asked with a grin.

Elijah turned on Tyler. "This man in on the board of directors which means that with a flick of his wrist he could make one of his last decisions ending your contract with this hospital. Do we understand each other, Dr. Lockwood? This is not your frat house. This is a hospital. People live and die because of the decisions we make. Now, either take it seriously or get the hell out."

"Man, sorry." Tyler held up his hands. "I… I'm sorry."

"Good," Elijah straightened his tie, looking a little less like he would kill Tyler and then walked down the final flight of stairs. "Would anyone like a scone? I'm still feeling hungry."

"Sure," Tyler said, his shoulders drooping.

Hayley patted Tyler on the back. "He'll get used to your being an idiot. Just give him a chance." She watched Tyler shake his head.

"Brother," Kol called. "I hear you're working on Nik's daddy. How is that progressing? Did Father ask you to let the scalpel slip just the tiniest fraction?" he inquired brightly.

"Kol, do not even joke of such things," Elijah snapped, irritably, handing Hayley her drink and a blue berry muffin because he already knew her too well. Tyler looked from Hayley to Elijah for a moment and Hayley willed herself to not blush.

Kol ignored them. "I will joke of it if I please. Does Nik know about his daddy being here?" he questioned Elijah before turning to the coffee vendor. "One iced vanilla latte for my newest slave, the lovely Dr. Forbes whom Nik scared off his service and a black coffee for me because I might need to be up late tonight with said slave."

"Kol, do not sleep with another intern," Elijah groaned.

"Why? Jealous because me and Nik are having at it with whoever we like while you're, well, you?" Kol winked at Hayley who chose to ignore him.

"Just give the girl a break. Nik's already giving her enough hell," Elijah replied shortly.

"Yes, and we all know why that is. Too bad for him she's had it with his poor ability to control his temper. Now it's my turn. If you'll excuse me, I have to go prep her," Kol began to whistle on his way down the hall.

Tyler watched Kol walk away. "I would die a happy man to live his life for one day."

"No, you would not," Elijah said with a heavy sigh. "Let's go." They walked in silence to the elevator. Getting off on the fourth floor, Genevieve came down the hall. "Dr. Mikaealson. One of your patients checked into the E. R. and Dr. Bennett has been looking for you." Genevieve hurried off to yell at an intern.

Elijah turned back to the elevator. "It looks like we'll have to table the research on this drug to see my patient," he said, looking at his pager. "Damn," he muttered when it went off again. "Looks like I'm needed on the eight floor. Hayley, will you take Tyler and see which of my patients is down in the E.R.?"

"Yes," Hayley called to him because he was already hurrying off to the staircase. She turned around and pressed a button to the elevator and the doors opened to reveal Josh. He looked like he was about to go to sleep on his feet. "Hey, Josh, you okay?" she asked him.

"I will be after I get some coffee," Josh told her. "I've got a pile of files that I have to get through thanks to trading with Caroline because Kol is an ass."

"See you later," Hayley called to him when the doors slid closed. Getting downstairs and walking down the hall, she entered through the sliding glass doors and looked in horror at the over-booked E. R.

"Marshall. Lockwood. Put on some gowns. I need help. Now," Dr. Bennett yelled at them. "Curtain one needs stitches. Curtain three is presenting, I don't know what but someone needs to find out. Fast! Come on, people. Let's go!"

"We're down here to check on a patient of Elijah Mikaelson's," Hayley told Dr. Bennett who rolled her eyes.

"Of course, you are. But while you're here, you're two extra pairs of hands. Now, go. Help people!" Dr. Bennett waved for them to run. "And Dr. Mikaelson can get his own ass down here instead of sending you down here for him. You're just an intern, Hayley."

Rolling her eyes, Hayley walked over to a man who sat holding his lower leg. "Can I take look at that?" she asked the man. He sat back and she pulled back his pants leg and then gagged. Under his pants the skin looked purple, greenish and seemed to leaking some kind of fluid. "Okay, we're going to have to drain this; it seems to be infected. Can you tell me how long it's been like that?"

"About a week," the man said as she pulled up a tray and a spinny stool. Sitting down, she placed a cloth on his leg and then pulled out a needle to numb the area. "This is going to sting a bit but it's better than if I tried to irrigate the wound without it."

"Ouch," the man hissed when she slid the needle in. She hated injecting people.

Trying to be as careful as possible, Hayley took her time draining the infected area which looked much worse than it really was. "Okay. So, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to bandage you up and write a prescription for an antibiotic cream that you need to apply to that for the next week," she pointed at the wound. "If it gets worse or something changes or you start to feel sick, you should come here."

"Okay," the man took a paper and Hayley smiled and then walked back out, ripping her gloves off and then finding a new pair.

Moving on to the next patient, Hayley helped a little girl get a toy solider her little brother had jammed up her nose out. An older man who could not remember what century it was located his wife behind the fifth curtain. A young woman who complained of a belly ache turned out to be three months pregnant to the delight of her and her fiancé. And a toddler suffered from a food allergy.

When Hayley was done, she remembered Elijah's patient. "Hey, Tyler, did you ever see Elijah's patient?" she asked Tyler who was taking his time while doing an examination of a female hockey player.

"Who?" Tyler asked, not looking up from the blonde on the table who smirked back at Hayley.

"Never mind," Hayley rolled her eyes and jerked the curtain closed. She started to look over charts, not seeing any familiar names when she spotted Genevieve switching out a box of gloves. "Hey, Genevieve, do you remember when you told Elijah Mikaelson that he had a patient down here?" she questioned the nurse.

Genevieve looked confused. "Yeah. I have been on four floors in the past three hours and helped take care of about thirty-five patients. Of course, I keep track of each and every one," she growled.

"Thanks for the help," Hayley muttered and then turned away.

"Marshall. Give me a minute," Genevieve yelled, still changing out glove boxes. "Okay," she said, dumping the empty boxes into a trash can. "We keep track of each patient who comes through here on these," she walked across the room and picked up an iPad device and began to flip through a long list. "If any of the patients that come through the E. R. are the patients of our doctors, they will come up here," she scrolled down. "Ah, Mary Kenner. Isn't that Jack's grandmother?" she asked Hayley.

Hayley wondered when Genevieve started referring to Jackson as Jack but went with it. "Yeah. She is. She's here?"

"Yes, she is, according to this chart. Let's go see. She should be in bed four," Genevieve led the way to the bed where Mary lay.

"Hey there, Dr. Marshall. Taking good care of Dr. Mikaelson?" she teased with a smile.

"You bet I am," Hayley replied with a laugh. "So what brings you by? You're not here because you miss us, are you?" she joked.

"Nope. Darn ticker started fussing at me this morning and Dr. Mikaelson always said that you should come in if you get worried about something. Good thing my insurance thinks so, to," Mary informed Hayley.

Pulling her stethoscope down, Hayley smiled at Mary. "That is good. I'm going to take a quick look at your breathing." Sliding the older woman's shirt up while Genevieve pushed the curtain closed, Hayley said, "Big breath in… and… out. One more time," she counted in her head while listening to Mary's heart pounding away in her chest. "Are you having any other symptoms. Shortness of breath? Weakness? Light-headedness?"

Mary shook her head. "Not really, doc. Just felt like my heart was squeezing a little bit this morning. Nothing since."

"Okay. Well. I'm going to have Dr. Gerard look at it. He's our heart guy. There's something more I can tell you. He is our best so you're in great hands," she assured Mary who smiled at her.

"No wonder my Jack likes you," Mary said, reaching out and squeezing Hayley's hands.

Hayley noticed that Genevieve's cheeks reddened and her focus became glued to her iPad. "Right. Did you want me to track down Jack for you?" she asked.

Mary shook her head. "Naw. That's alright. I'm sure it's just something I ate. Don't trouble the kid when he's trying to impress the doctors here."

"Okay. Well, I will come back later to check up on you," Hayley called over her shoulder on her way out.

"You take care and don't let them run you ragged," Mary advised.

Hayley laughed as she opened the curtain. "It's all in a day's work. Turning to Genevieve she added. "Can you page Dr. Gerard for a consult?" she asked. Genevieve smirked at her before walking away without another word. "Okay." Shaking her head, Hayley turned around to be confronted by a furious looking Rebekah. "I smell like baby vomit. I was supposed to be going to dinner tonight and thanks to you and Whiny Pants, I smell like vomit!" Rebekah snarled.

"Calm down, Rebekah," Hayley said, walking around her friend.

"I want sex. I need sex. And now, I have baby vomit. In. My. Hair!" Rebekah continued, following Hayley. "Do you know how many people think that that is attractive? Do you?" she asked Hayley who tried not to laugh and failed, walking over to the nurse's station.

"Umm…" Hayley tried and failed to think of an answer that would not cause Rebekah to lose her mind.

"You're going to pay for this Hayley. You're going to give me whatever case you're on," Rebekah demanded, glaring at Hayley.

"No. No, I'm not," Hayley protested.

"Who ordered a consult?" Marcel shouted, coming toward them. "Tell me it's Dr. Mikaelson. Damn, girl, you smell good," he told her and Hayley started to laugh when Rebekah let out a shrill sound and took off. "What's up with her?"

"That time of the month," Hayley told him.

Marcel shrugged. "It happens. Okay. Where are we off to?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

"This way," Hayley started to take him over to the bed that Mary was sitting on when the doors to the E. R. swung open.

"Mass casualty!" Bonnie Bennett yelled at them. "All hands on deck, people. We have a five car pile-up. Come on, people!"

Hayley watched as people were brought in on gurneys. "Three were DOA," a paramedic told Dr. Bennett. "This girl, she's the only survivor we found in one of the cars," he told them.

"We've got ourselves a fight on our hands. Let's keep her alive," Marcel shouted, moving after the girl. "Marshall, follow me," he called after her. Hayley followed him toward a room where the nurses cut the girl's shirt off. "Shit. Her pulse rate is going down. Flat line!" Marcel shouted, he began chest compressions. "Come on, little fighter, don't give up on me. Come on. You didn't survive a five car crash like that to die. You live, got me? Live. Damn it!" he grunted while Hayley pressed on a bag, watching her closely. She could be this girl with her long, dark hair dropping off the table.

"Live," Marcel cried, still doing compressions until her chest began to move up and down on its own. "Yes!" Marcel cried with a grin. Hayley grinned back at him. "Little fight girl is in it for the long haul," he said.

Smiling, Hayley took off her gloves and went to look in on Mary who sat, drinking a glass of orange juice and talking to Genevieve. Deciding to go look for Elijah, Hayley headed upstairs when her pager went off. Elijah was paging her and she ran up the rest of stairs to find him standing beside Dr. Branson's bedside while shaking his head. "What happened?" she asked him.

"Mr. Branson wants you to administer the drug," Elijah told her proudly. "It was your find so you should do the honors."

"Really?" Hayley looked at Mr. Branson who nodded. "Wow. This is cool," she said. Coming over to the bedside, she took the needle that Elijah handed her and inserted it into the tube.

"If it works we should see improvement in as early as a week," Elijah informed Mr. Branson.

"Thank you. Thank both of you," Mr. Branson said with a smile. Hayley thought that was the first time she saw him smile.

Exiting the room, Elijah took Hayley down the hall and opened a door to an empty room before closing it and locking it. "I think we should celebrate," he said, pulling her off her feet and carrying her to the bed. She could not stop smiling as he he kissed her. Best freakin' day of her life.

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing. ****J**

**Answers to guest reviews: **

**Guest: Thank you! ****J**

**Magnolia123: I promise, I will not give up on this story or this ship even if we lose the show, which I do really, really hope, we do not! My book is kind of sitting, waiting for people to find it. But I'm working on a prequel. So, we will see how things go. ****J**

**Veronicashadows: Thank you. It's a lot of fun playing with the characters from TVD and TO and then sending them into a hospital to wreak havoc. I love Haylijah, too, and it's so much fun writing about them as Mer and Der, although I hope they don't end up with a similar fate. :/**

**Mia: I have tried to check out ****_Saving_****_Hope_**** but I could only get a copy of the DVD but they do show reruns on one of the TV stations but it's so late in the evening. As far ****_Chicago_****_Med_****, I don't really tune into a lot of the new medical shows. I used to watch ER though. ****J**

**Guest: Thank you. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. ****J**

**Peace, **

**Jessica **


End file.
